JNPT aims to deliver 40% containers under 72 hours

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) authorities are targeting to have 40% of the import deliveries through Direct Port Delivery (DPD), which will result in approximate savings of Rs 20,000 per Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) in cost on transaction, inventory and detention.

TEU is used to measure a ship’s cargo carrying capacity. One TEU is equal to that of a standard 20 feet long, 8 feet tall shipping container.

This move will enable JNPT to get the imported containers delivered directly to the consignees within hours. At present, the containers, on an average, have to stay for a week in freight stations.

Usually, import-laden containers, after landing at JNPT, are transferred from the terminal to Container Freight Station (CFS), and only after a clearance from the customs department they are delivered to the consignees or importers.

“Under DPD, containers are delivered to the importer directly from the terminal instead of routing through CFS. Importer receives the cargo in less than 72 hours as against an average of 7 days if routed through CFS,” said Anil Diggikar, chairman of JNPT.

There are around 2,000 agencies or importers working with JNPT. However, only 778 of them have been given Accredited Client Programmer (ACP) status by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on all-India basis. The ACP status allows them to avail of the DPD facility.

Moreover, out of the 778 agencies, only 91 are operating at JNPT.

“We want more agencies to come on board for this facility, as it will only reduce the delivery time, therefore, reducing the transportation cost. An importer can save CFS expenditure that varies between Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 per TEU, if DPD facility is availed,” added Neeraj Bansal, deputy chairman of JNPT.