Kolkata: A riverine location, a 232-km navigational channel and persistent siltation make running Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port a demanding business. Yet, the port has moved from a loss of Rs 68.46 crore in FY2014-15 to a profit of Rs 221.56 crore in FY2025-26, alongside record cargo and container traffic.
Its next phase involves greater mechanisation, private participation, cleaner energy and better use of an extensive land bank. Deputy Chairman Samrat Rahi also makes a case for greater financial and operational autonomy, arguing that infrastructure investment must be supported by faster decisions and measurable accountability.
In this interview with PSU Watch, Rahi discusses the turnaround, safeguards for public assets and plans to connect the port’s growth with Kolkata’s wider economy.
Edited excerpts:
What drove the turnaround from losses to profitability?
The turnaround came from sustained changes across operations, asset utilisation, business diversification and customer service. Our geography remained the same: we continued to operate through a long riverine channel with siltation, tidal dependence and substantial maintenance requirements. What changed was our approach.
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We improved operational efficiency, made better use of existing assets and expanded land-related and logistics businesses. Better service delivery and transparent processes helped strengthen customer confidence.
Between FY2014-15 and FY2025-26, cargo traffic increased by nearly 53 percent. We recorded our highest-ever throughput of 70.872 million tonnes and container traffic of 9.61 lakh TEUs. Revenue from non-core activities, particularly land-related business, grew by about 146 percent.
These changes created a broader revenue base and helped move the port from a Rs 68.46 crore loss to a Rs 221.56 crore profit.
What has kept the port relevant through 156 years of economic and political change?
Adaptability and location have been fundamental. The port serves eastern and northeastern India and provides maritime access to Nepal and Bhutan. Its connections with a substantial hinterland have sustained its importance through changing trade patterns and economic cycles.
But location alone cannot ensure longevity. We have had to find practical solutions to navigational constraints, including floating cranes for container handling and flat-bottom vessels capable of carrying larger parcels in shallow drafts.
Infrastructure modernisation, digital services and better asset management have also helped us remain competitive. Our experience shows that an institution endures when it responds to changing customer requirements rather than relying solely on its historical importance.
Which operational changes matter most, and what are your targets for 2030?
Mechanisation, digitalisation and greater private participation have been central to the changes over the past five years. They have improved cargo handling, simplified documentation and made services more transparent. Night navigation has been another major development, enabling round-the-clock vessel movement through the riverine channel.
By 2030, we aim to increase cargo-handling capacity by 35 percent, raise mechanisation from 58 percent to 84 percent and expand the share of PPP-operated assets from 18 percent to 67 percent.
We also intend to take equipment electrification beyond 50 percent and increase renewable energy use from 6 percent to more than 40 percent.
Alongside these targets, we are pursuing shipbuilding, ship repair, cruise tourism and port-led industrial development.
What has enabled these changes, and can the approach work elsewhere?
A clear policy direction and a long-term development framework have been important. Initiatives such as Sagarmala, Maritime India Vision 2030, PM Gati Shakti and the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 have shaped how ports plan, invest and operate.
At our port, infrastructure, connectivity, digitalisation and land development have been pursued as parts of a common roadmap. This helps projects reinforce one another instead of developing in isolation.
Implementation also depends on cooperation among the government, port authority, private partners and trade.
The same approach can work in other sectors: stable policy, empowered institutions, defined responsibilities and measurable outcomes. A development plan becomes effective when stakeholders understand both the objective and their accountability for delivering it.
How do you attract private investment while protecting public interest?
Our approach is to bring in capital, technology and operational expertise while retaining public ownership of strategic assets.
Projects must fit the port’s long-term development strategy. Before proceeding, we commission techno-economic feasibility studies covering technical viability, financial sustainability, environmental considerations and stakeholder requirements.
Concession agreements specify investment obligations, performance standards, revenue-sharing arrangements and service benchmarks. The port retains ownership of its land and strategic assets, while the private partner takes on defined development and operating responsibilities.
We have also focused on streamlining internal approvals, consulting stakeholders and taking timely decisions. Faster implementation must be supported by proper scrutiny, statutory approvals and security clearances wherever required.
Balanced risk-sharing and continuing oversight are essential to securing long-term value.
How far do you expect the landlord port model to expand?
Under the landlord model, the port authority owns the land and core infrastructure, while private operators receive long-term concessions to finance, develop, operate and maintain terminals.
This allows the authority to focus more closely on planning, oversight and overall port development. Its success depends on clear concession terms, appropriate risk allocation and commercially workable projects.
Our long-term vision is to handle nearly 90 percent of cargo through PPP-operated terminals and bring around 75 percent of port infrastructure under PPP concessions by 2047.
Future projects will increasingly involve automation, renewable energy, shore power and other sustainable infrastructure. Private participation must improve productivity and service quality while preserving public ownership and accountability.
How are you using the port’s land bank, and what progress has been made on encroachments?
We hold 1,932 hectares of land, of which about 3.35 percent is presently encroached. Since 2022, nearly 250 eviction orders have resulted in the recovery of around five lakh square metres.
Digital land management and vacant-land information systems have improved mapping, monitoring, lease administration and identification of available parcels.
Our priority is to put land to productive use through logistics infrastructure, port-led industries, shipbuilding, ship repair and tourism. Sites including Jellingham, Roychawk and Timber Pond have been earmarked for shipbuilding and repair activities. Proposals for textile, tea, agro-processing and seafood parks are also being advanced.
The reclaimed Sonadhinghi riverfront property in Howrah is another example of land being brought into planned development.
What role will the proposed Balagarh facility play?
We are developing an Extended Port Gate on 308.75 acres of port-owned land at Balagarh Island, approximately 45 nautical miles upstream of Kolkata.
The objective is to strengthen inland waterway transport and multimodal logistics while helping decongest city traffic. For a port operating within a busy urban region, the efficiency of cargo movement beyond the docks is critical.
Balagarh forms part of our wider effort to connect port operations more effectively with inland logistics infrastructure. Better integration of waterways, road and rail can support cargo growth while easing pressure on urban freight corridors.
Why are tourism and riverfront development becoming part of the port’s strategy?
Cargo handling will remain our core business. However, our riverfront land, historic buildings and maritime heritage offer opportunities to develop additional activities and improve public access to the waterfront.
With the Inland Waterways Authority of India, we are developing a Cruise Tourism Hub at Indenture Memorial. Plans include adaptive reuse of old workshops and warehouses, alongside visitor facilities and public spaces.
Other initiatives cover heritage ghat restoration, promenades, hospitality facilities and recreation. Riverfront projects are being pursued at several locations, including Roychak, Swarupgunj, Noorpur and Budge Budge.
The aim is to balance heritage conservation, environmental responsibility and economic activity, while creating opportunities for local businesses, investment and employment.
Which governance reforms deserve the strongest policy attention?
Greater operational and financial autonomy should be a priority. Port leadership needs clearly defined authority to take decisions quickly, particularly on commercial matters and project implementation.
Multiple approval layers can delay execution and reduce responsiveness. Greater delegation to chairpersons and deputy chairpersons, supported by checks and balances, would help address this.
I also favour a gradual move towards corporate-style governance, with stronger financial discipline, performance-based management and clearly defined key performance indicators.
Greater flexibility must come with measurable accountability. Public oversight remains essential, but institutions should have the authority to deliver the outcomes expected of them. Building infrastructure and empowering the organisation responsible for operating it must proceed together.
Beyond governance, what would make Indian ports more competitive?
We need stronger connections between ports and their hinterlands. Inland container depots, dedicated freight corridors, multimodal logistics parks and digital cargo tracking should function as connected parts of the supply chain.
Coastal shipping and inland waterways must be integrated more closely with road and rail to reduce logistics costs and congestion.
The transition to cleaner operations also needs to accelerate through electric equipment, renewable energy, shore power and greener tugs.
Better coordination among Central and state governments, port authorities and private partners would improve implementation. Expanding shipbuilding and repair capabilities, strengthening international partnerships and developing climate-resilient infrastructure are also important. Competitiveness depends on the reliability of the entire logistics chain, not cargo-handling capacity alone.
What has been your toughest leadership challenge, and how does it shape your vision for Kolkata?
One of the toughest responsibilities has been implementing modernisation while keeping port operations running through supply chain disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty. We also compete with deeper-draft ports despite our riverine constraints.
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That requires balancing investment, financial prudence, environmental responsibilities and customer expectations. Timely decisions and institutional coordination have been crucial.
For Kolkata, the priorities include better freight corridors, bypass roads, last-mile connectivity and public transport. Planned satellite townships can help ease congestion and support balanced expansion.
West Bengal should build on its strengths in logistics, waterways, manufacturing, tourism and port-led industries. Faster approvals, efficient public services and coordinated planning will be essential to turn that potential into investment and employment.
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