RSA Global India launches Phase 1 of JNPA’s largest and most technologically advanced container yard at Nhava Sheva

RSA Global India, part of RSA Global, a Dubai-headquartered logistics and supply chain group, on Monday inaugurated Phase 1 of its automated empty container yard at Nhava Sheva, within the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) estate, developed under the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) initiative. The yard gives shipping lines, terminal operators, shippers and the transport community at India’s busiest container gateway a single organised location for empty container storage, maintenance and repositioning. The site is being delivered in four phases, each adding storage, handling capability and automation. 

The yard was inaugurated by Mr Gaurav Dayal, IAS, Chairman, JNPA, alongside representatives of shipping lines, terminal operators and the transport community that works at the port. 

Empty container handling at Nhava Sheva has long been unorganised, causing congestion, unpredictable turnaround time for transporters and limited visibility of empty stock for carriers, which impacts operations. RSA Global India holds a 30-year tenure lease from JNPA for the site, which is secured and lit by high mast lighting for operations around the clock.  

Phase 1 opens with the yard’s digital backbone already in place. A Yard Management System gives shipping lines and terminal operators visibility of their empty stock in real time, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) at the gate identifies containers on arrival and departure without manual keying, with QR and RFID data passing securely to internal checkpoints. 

“India’s port capacity has grown faster than the infrastructure that supports it, and empty containers have quietly carried the cost of that gap. This yard is our answer to it: organised land, a long tenure inside the port and a facility built to hold up as volumes keep rising,” said Mr Ajay I. Shah, Chairman and Co-Founder, RSA Global. 

The facility handles dry containers, reefer containers and special equipment from Phase 1, with tank containers being added in future phases.  Yard activities include empty storage, 

maintenance and repair, pre-trip inspection, container survey and inspection, container fabrication and modification, repositioning transport and CFS transfers. Transporters gain dedicated parking, faster gate-in and gate-out, and driver facilities on site, which together support more trips a day and lower idling emissions. 

The phased build-out 

The facility will be developed in four phases. Phase 1, now live, offers storage for 5,000 TEUs and throughput of 7,500 TEUs a month, with full maintenance and repair services from day one. Phases 2 and 3 scale the site to its full 62 acres, reaching storage for 35,000 TEUs and throughput of 50,000 TEUs a month, and tank container capability. Phase 4 deploys full automation, including an Automated Handling and Storage Facility (AHSF), which lifts throughput to as much as 75,000 TEUs a month. 

In its end state, the yard runs as one connected system, from intelligent access at the gate through open storage, automated storage and retrieval, equipment handling and specialised facilities, with digital visibility across all of it.  

“Empty container evacuation directly affects how quickly terminals here clear vessels. A facility of this scale and automation inside the port estate supports the throughput targets we have set for Jawaharlal Nehru Port, and it improves daily working conditions for the transporters who move containers through it,” noted Mr Gaurav Dayal, IAS, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority. 

The site operates with dedicated electricity and water supply, recycles water and waste through on-site sewage and effluent treatment plants, and will carry more than 2,500 trees planted for green cover. Safety and compliance infrastructure includes CCTV surveillance around the clock, controlled access systems, fire safety infrastructure and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board compliance. 

“A shipping line does not judge a yard by how big it is. It judges it by how quickly a box moves in and out. By bringing technological advancements through unique hardware and software solutions, we aim to turn 62 acres into a strategic advantage in our customers’ supply chain,” said Mr Abhishek Shah, Group CEO and Co-Founder, RSA Global. 

Mr Ajit Biswas, CEO, RSA Global India, was also present on the occasion.

The facility, expected to support around 750 direct and indirect jobs, serves the western and northern corridor feeding JNPA, covering Maharashtra, South Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, North Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Its development follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed between RSA Global and the Government of Maharashtra, informed a communique. 

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