The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) is set to make ship operations cleaner, with vessels able to switch off diesel generators while berthed and draw power from the shore, under a US$70 million blue financing arrangement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
JNPA chairperson Gaurav Dayal said the financing would help the port manage the risks involved in introducing the technology. “Funding from international development institutions like IFC will enable JNPA to manage early-stage commercial risks, build operational experience, and bring international best-practices, prior to scale-up,” Dayal said. IFC South Asia division director Manuel Reyes Retana said the investment would demonstrate the potential of sustainable financing in India’s maritime sector. “By partnering with India’s largest and busiest container port we are going beyond an infrastructure upgrade to demonstrate that sustainable financing can work for the country’s maritime sector at scale,” Retana said.
“A successful operational and commercial demonstration by India’s largest container port would provide proof of concept for broader adoption of SPS across Indian ports and other emerging markets.
IFC also supported JNPA in developing a Sustainable Finance Framework to mobilise additional green and blue financing for future investments. The transaction is also described by JNPA as the first development-finance institution investment in India’s state-owned major port authorities.
