The ministry of shipping is planning to merge the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust?s (JNPT) fourth container terminal’s two projects worth R4,000 crore each into one worth R8,500 crore, a senior port executive said.

The terminal, which has been in limbo for three years, is crucial for JNPT’s expansion plans as it is expected to increase the port’s capacity two fold.

In December last year, the port announced that the R8,000-crore container terminal will be divided into two projects to increase competition among bidders.

?The ministry is planning to revert to the original plan of having only one project for the fourth terminal, which will streamline competition. The project will cost R8,500 crore now,? the official said, adding that the government may have a preferred partner of choice.

The senior official said the Singapore government owned-PSA International and Reliance Industries may be among the probable bidders as the large project size eliminates smaller companies from the bidding process.

The fourth terminal ran into problems as the consortium of PSA, which is one of the largest port operators in the world, and India’s ABG Group walked out of the project last year due to internal issues. JNPT planned to award the fourth container terminal project to a private partner by March this year, but that has not yet taken place.

This project is expected to add 4.8 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) per annum, helping JNPT achieve its goal of 10.5 million TEUs over the next five years. Currently, JNPT is working at a capacity of 115%, higher than the 60-70% capacity that ports abroad run at. Ships entering India face a longer turnaround time, which raises the cost of business for shipping liners and exporters.

The port’s fifth container terminal, which is expected to cost R25,000 crore and a R4,000-crore multi-purpose berth are also stuck, after the port gave approval to the trans-harbour link, connecting Mumbai to Navi Mumbai in January.

Due to the delays in expansion, JNPT, which handles about 60% of the country?s container traffic, is losing cargo traffic to ports like Mundra, which is the country’s largest private port. Mundra’s traffic rose 33% for the fiscal year ending March 31, compared to the previous year.

On the contrary, JNPT saw a 1.8% drop in yearly cargo.