JSW Infrastructure says Keni clearance needs 3-4 months

JSW Infrastructure Limited expects Keni’s environmental clearance to take another three to four months after a state coastal authority recommended the project to the central government. JSW Infrastructure also targets construction starts at Oman and Murbe in Q4 FY27, while Jatadhar is planned to begin cargo handling around the end of March or April 2027.

What is the status of JSW Infrastructure's Keni clearance?

JSW Infrastructure’s Keni project remains dependent on environmental clearance, which management expects may take another three to four months. The Karnataka Coastal Zone Management Authority, or KCZMA, had recommended the proposal to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, or MoEFCC, in the days before the call. Management said the process to begin construction would follow only after the environmental clearance is received.

Keni has a less defined timetable than Oman and Murbe because management did not provide a tender date, construction-start target or capacity figure for the project. The disclosed progress was the KCZMA recommendation to the MoEFCC, while the central-government decision remains the next execution condition. Management acknowledged that the project had already been delayed by the clearance process.

An analyst referred to Keni, Murbe and Oman as part of the bridge from 300 million tonnes in FY28 to 400 million tonnes in FY30. Management did not alter those reference points in its response, but it did not assign Keni a start date after the expected three-to-four-month clearance period. The MoEFCC decision is therefore the immediate milestone for the project.

When will JSW Infrastructure begin work at Oman and Murbe?

JSW Infrastructure expects work at both Oman and Murbe to start in Q4 FY27. In Oman, it had floated tenders and expected bids by mid-November. The company was also appointing a project management consultant, or PMC, alongside its mine developer and operator, or MDO, partner before construction begins.

Oman also had a funding action during the reported quarter, when JSW Infrastructure subscribed to equity capital by infusing Rs 40 crore, pending allotment. That transaction does not establish a completion date, but it accompanies the tender and consultant-selection processes. Management’s stated target is a Q4 FY27 work start, subject to the remaining development steps.

At Murbe, land acquisition was under way and the tender-invitation process had been completed. Management similarly expects work to start in Q4 FY27. Unlike Keni, management did not identify a pending central environmental approval as the immediate constraint at Murbe, although land acquisition remains an outstanding execution task.

The shared Q4 FY27 target covers projects at different stages. Oman was awaiting bids and progressing PMC appointment with the MDO partner, while Murbe had moved beyond tender invitations but remained in land acquisition. These dates are management targets rather than completed construction starts.

When will JSW Infrastructure's Jatadhar port handle cargo?

JSW Infrastructure expects Jatadhar’s berth works and mechanisation works to be completed by March 2027, enabling cargo handling around the end of March or April 2027. That milestone includes dredging for Panamax vessel handling. Panamax refers to vessels sized to transit the Panama Canal.

Capesize facilities at Jatadhar are expected later, in Q3 FY28. Management distinguished the later Capesize capability from the initial operational milestone, saying the port would progressively move beyond Panamax handling. The March 2027 target therefore marks the intended start of cargo handling rather than final development of the facility.

The first Jatadhar phase uses around 690 metres of waterfront to handle 30 million tonnes. The port has waterfront permission for close to 3.5 kilometres and environmental clearance for 52 million tonnes. Management said the breakwater and channel form the core structure for later additions, while further berths and equipment can be developed within the harbour.

Management said roughly another 700 metres of waterfront could support an additional 30 million to 35 million tonnes, depending on the machinery installed. It described potential for 100 million to 120 million tonnes at Jatadhar. Those figures are management’s assessment of possible capacity, not a separately committed construction programme.

What execution dependencies remain for JSW Infrastructure's port expansion?

JSW Infrastructure’s longer-term Jatadhar expansion depends on a common transport corridor linking the port and steel plant to Badabandha station near Paradip. Management said land acquisition was under way and estimated the corridor would take at least another two years, including the land process. The planned network includes links to the Cuttack-Paradip line and the Haridaspur-Paradip line through a flyover.

The corridor is intended for inbound and outbound cargo. Management said iron ore is expected to arrive substantially through a slurry pipeline, while the rail corridor would connect the port and steel plant to the broader rail network. In-principle approvals were being pursued, leaving connectivity on a timetable separate from the March 2027 berth and mechanisation target.

Jatadhar’s current 30-million-tonne phase is below its 52-million-tonne environmental clearance and management’s 100-million-to-120-million-tonne waterfront assessment. Management said waterfront availability would not be the limiting factor because of the close to 3.5-kilometre permission. Land acquisition and delivery of the common corridor remain necessary for wider capacity development.

Management also identified opportunities not included in the disclosed Rs 30,000 crore port capital-expenditure pipeline. These include a possible Oman Phase 2 and Kolkata Phase 2, a container terminal won recently. JSW Infrastructure was also bidding for container terminals in southern India, but management did not present those bids as secured additions to the 400-million-tonne plan.

Conclusion

JSW Infrastructure has provided a staggered execution timetable for the projects discussed in its FY28-to-FY30 capacity bridge. Keni awaits central environmental clearance expected in another three to four months, while Oman and Murbe are targeted for Q4 FY27 construction starts. Jatadhar is expected to handle cargo around March or April 2027, with Capesize facilities targeted for Q3 FY28.

The next items to watch are the MoEFCC decision on Keni, Oman bids expected by mid-November, Murbe land-acquisition progress and Jatadhar’s March 2027 berth, mechanisation and Panamax dredging target. For Jatadhar’s larger-scale development, management’s estimate of at least two more years for the common transport corridor remains an unresolved execution timetable.