DP World CEO Yuvraj Narayan Says India Is 'in Everybody's Plan,' Calls for Faster Pace

DP World Group CEO Yuvraj Narayan said India features in the strategic plans of businesses across the globe, but argued the country still needs to pick up the pace to keep up with the scale of opportunity, a point he made while laying out the port and logistics operator's own expansion plans in the country.

Narayan said DP World is prepared to put a further 3 billion to 5 billion dollars into India, though he stressed the figure is not tied to a fixed timetable and will depend on how various bids and projects play out. Among the live opportunities is the Vadhvan port project, for parts of which DP World has already placed a bid, and which he estimated could require about 10 billion dollars of investment spread across phases over 10 to 15 years.

He said he hoped the Vadhvan project would finally go ahead, arguing that port capacity built there today would already be in use given current demand, and describing it as essential if India is to offer the kind of resilient supply chains manufacturers need before they can shift large scale production to the country.

On nearer term plans, Narayan pointed to a new container terminal at Tuna Tekra, expected to be operational by the middle of next year, calling it among the company's bigger India investments. He also noted that DP World recently secured a new container depot project at Dadri, expected to cost close to 2,000 crore rupees.