The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) will be installing the big shore power facilities to facilitate the switch-off of diesel generator machines from ships and use electricity from shore power equipment when ships are moored.
The blue financing arrangement of the project with USD 70 million financed by International Finance Corporation (IFC) has been approved. According to JNPA, this project will lead to an expected 63% reduction in carbon emissions and up to a 90% decrease in harmful air pollution, and will create 400-plus jobs.
The funding has been called the “blu” financing mechanism for the maritime sector for India. It is also expected that the transaction will be the first named as a ‘blue financing facility’ under the Indian Ports Act, 2025 in the Asia Pacific region and among the first that meets the requirements of the guidelines in the ‘Blue Finance’ framework.
The system, called shore power, will bring electricity to vessels tied up to port, rather than having auxiliary diesel engines and generators on board. Currently no major port in India has commercially scale up shore power, said JNPA.
This project will be done in two stages that will take place over two or three years. Its infrastructure will involve 33-KV substations, cable systems, frequency converter and shore side equipment at several berth locations along with the additional equipment involved with connecting to the grid. The initial phase will address one of the container terminals before expanding it to other eligible container terminals.
The facility according to project information from JNPA, will be completed by January 2028 with the exception of the liquid-cargo terminal.
IFC funding would enable the port to deal with early-stage commercial risk and gain experience of operation before expanding its scope, Gaurav Dayal (Chairperson of JNPA) said. If they can demonstrate success, it could be a model of adoption for many Indian ports and other nascent markets, he added.