The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) at Uran in Navi Mumbai has become the first port in India to cross 10 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container handling capacity, with the recent completion of the final stages of expansion plans.

The port, which handles over half of India's container traffic, now has five container terminals with a capacity of 10.4 TEUs, in addition to two liquid and two general cargo terminals. In 2024, it handled 7.05 million TEUs. The port handled 15.39 MT containers and a total of 16.64 MT of cargo up to May in 2025-26. The nearest competitor, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd's Mundra port, has four container terminals with a combined capacity of 7.5 million TEUs and is planning further expansion. Both ports together handle over 65% of India's container movement.

"We cannot expand further at JNPA as the seafront is not available and it is a city port. Therefore, we are developing the Vadhvan port, 150 km away. Here, the focus will be on optimising resource utilisation in all aspects of operations, reducing costs for customers and new facilities at the SEZ," Unmesh Sharad Wagh, chairman, JNPA, told Fortune India.

He said JNPA, well-connected on all three sides with several highways, has created a centralised parking Plaza for goods, almost free of cost. Besides, JNPA is building an empty container yard.

Wagh said another focus area is developing the SEZ. "We have 266 hectares and out of that, approximately 500 acres are saleable. Already, we have given about 75% of it." DP World, JSW and Fine Organics are among the developers.

He said sustainability is another focus area and already, the port is run on 60% renewable energy, which will become 100% in the future. Besides greening the port area, efforts like the introduction of electric trucks to replace diesel trucks in terminal operations are going on. Automation is a continuous process and operations at the port are fully digitised, including advanced tools like digital twins used in the truck appointment system. Efforts are on to have 5 G-enabled systems and investments are going on in anti-cyber and other security measures, said Wagh.