DP World CEO Yuvraj Narayan recently mentioned that India’s container terminal capacity is being utilised at below 60%, compared with around 95% across the company’s mature global ports, raising questions over whether India needs more terminals or better-connected ones.
India’s container port infrastructure may be expanding rapidly, but a much more fundamental challenge remains: the country is not fully utilising the capacity it already has.
Container terminal utilisation across India is currently below 60%, according to Yuvraj Narayan, Global CEO of DP World, while mature ports operated by the company globally achieve utilisation levels of around 95%.
The sharp gap points to a structural issue in India’s maritime logistics ecosystem. The challenge, Narayan suggested, is not necessarily a shortage of terminal capacity, but the ability to connect ports efficiently with the cargo-generating hinterland.
His comments, reported by Mint, come as DP World evaluates further investments in India and seeks longer-term arrangements for some of its existing terminal concessions. The company currently operates five container terminals in the country: Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal, Nhava Sheva India Gateway Terminal, Mundra International Container Terminal, International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarpadam and Chennai Container Terminal.
More capacity, but where is the cargo?
India has spent years expanding its port and container-handling infrastructure as part of its broader ambition to increase the efficiency of its trade gateways.
The underlying logic is straightforward: rising manufacturing, exports and imports will require greater container capacity.
But the utilisation figures suggest that capacity creation alone is not enough.
Narayan’s assessment is particularly significant because DP World operates terminals across multiple Indian gateways as well as mature international ports. According to his comparison, Indian terminal capacity is being utilised at less than two-thirds of the level achieved across DP World’s mature global network.
The implication is important for future port planning. If terminals are operating substantially below their potential, adding more berths and yard capacity may not automatically translate into greater trade throughput.
Instead, the focus could increasingly shift towards the infrastructure surrounding the port.
The hinterland connection problem
For containerised trade, a port is only as effective as the logistics network that feeds it.
Containers need to move efficiently between factories, distribution centres, inland container depots, freight terminals and the port. Weak road and rail connectivity can increase transit times and logistics costs, making a port less attractive even when it has ample berth and yard capacity.
This appears to be the central issue highlighted by Narayan.
He argued that India should focus more on hinterland connectivity through rail, roads and coastal shipping, rather than simply continuing to add terminals. His assessment was blunt: India is building capacity in locations where connectivity to the cargo base is not sufficiently strong.
That raises a broader question for India’s maritime infrastructure strategy: should the next rupee of investment go into another terminal, or into making existing terminals work harder?
The 60% utilisation question
A utilisation rate below 60% does not necessarily mean that individual terminals are inefficient.
Terminal utilisation is influenced by several factors, including shipping-line networks, trade imbalances, hinterland access, transshipment patterns, vessel calls, cargo seasonality and the distribution of import and export cargo.
Nevertheless, at an aggregate level, persistent spare capacity can have significant implications.
Underutilised assets mean that capital invested in berths, cranes, yards and associated infrastructure is not generating their full potential throughput. At the same time, fragmented cargo flows can prevent terminals from achieving the economies of scale required to compete with major international gateways.
This becomes particularly relevant as India seeks to position itself as a global manufacturing and export hub.
India’s ambition is growing faster than its logistics utilisation
India’s maritime infrastructure ambitions remain substantial.
DP World itself has positioned India as a long-term growth market. The company has invested around $2.5 billion in the country and has announced plans for further expansion. In October 2025, DP World also announced a further $5 billion investment commitment in India’s infrastructure and integrated supply chain network, in addition to around $3 billion invested over the previous three decades, according to Reuters.
The company has also been expanding its global container capacity. DP World recently crossed 100 million TEUs of gross container-handling capacity following years of investment in terminals and greenfield developments.
The contrast makes India’s utilisation challenge even more relevant.
For a global terminal operator, the objective is not simply to possess capacity. It is to generate sustained throughput from that capacity.
What India needs next
The next phase of India’s port development may therefore need to be less about “how much capacity can we build?” and more about “how efficiently can we connect cargo to that capacity?”
That could mean greater investment in:
- Dedicated rail connectivity to major container gateways
- Faster road access to ports and industrial clusters
- Coastal shipping as an alternative to congested land corridors
- Stronger integration between ports, ICDs, CFSs and logistics parks
- Better cargo aggregation around manufacturing clusters
- More efficient multimodal freight networks
- Greater coordination between port development and industrial policy
India’s container trade is expected to grow alongside manufacturing, organised retail, e-commerce and the country’s expanding participation in global supply chains. The question is whether existing infrastructure can absorb that growth before the country commits further capital to creating additional capacity.
For DP World, the answer appears to be clear: India does not necessarily need more container terminals as much as it needs better-connected ones.
That distinction could become increasingly important as India plans the next generation of its maritime infrastructure.
After all, a port operating at 60% utilisation is not merely a capacity story. It is a reminder that a container terminal’s real capacity extends far beyond its quay wall.
