DP World Mundra forecast to drive Indian export growth

DP World’s Mundra International Container Terminal could support an additional $6.4bn in goods exports and a $9.2bn GDP impact for India by 2035, following new independent research by Oxford Economics.

The study examined the economic role of the Mundra International Container Terminal, known as MICT, which has become one of India’s major containerised trade gateways since opening in 2003. The terminal handled 1.4m TEU in 2024 and has processed more than 19m containers since commissioning.

MICT connects India to 73 global ports and can handle ultra-large container vessels of up to 19,200 TEU. Its multimodal rail links connect the port with Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi, giving manufacturers, importers, and exporters access to global shipping networks through a single gateway.

Oxford Economics found that MICT contributed $128.9m to India’s GDP in 2024, including $118.8m within Gujarat. The terminal supported approximately 1,880 jobs nationwide, including 1,240 in Gujarat, with wider economic activity generated across logistics, transport, manufacturing, retail, and services.

Hemant Kumar Ruia, Country Manager, DP World Subcontinent India, said: “When infrastructure is built for scale, efficiency and connectivity, it becomes a powerful driver of both economic growth and social progress. At DP World Mundra, we are enabling faster, more reliable trade while creating better jobs, building skills and expanding opportunities for businesses and communities.”

Port infrastructure is increasingly being measured by its ability to support industrial competitiveness rather than by quay length alone. MICT’s value sits in the connection between marine capacity, inland rail, manufacturing zones, export markets, import supply, and logistics employment.

That connection is particularly important for India’s industrial and manufacturing base. Inland rail access through Gujarat and northern India gives exporters more flexibility when moving goods to ocean services, while importers gain a more structured route for equipment, components, raw materials, packaging, and production inputs.

Earlier India cargo pressure highlighted trailer shortages, port congestion, and longer transit times across parts of the country’s logistics network. Those constraints put greater emphasis on gateway reliability, inland rail capacity, and the ability of ports to absorb growth without creating new bottlenecks inland.

Container pricing has also been moving unevenly around the region. India–Gulf container rates softened as capacity returned, but the market remains exposed to vessel redeployment, geopolitical disruption, and changes in demand between Asia, the Gulf, Europe, and North America.

India’s export ambitions depend on more than low-cost production. Manufacturers need repeatable logistics performance, competitive transit times, access to empty equipment, and inland connections that do not erase factory-level cost advantages. Ports that combine deepwater capacity with rail-linked hinterlands are better positioned to support higher-value exports, particularly where production centres are located far from the coast.

The workforce data also shows how port-linked logistics can widen its regional economic footprint. Terminal activity supports direct employment, but it also creates demand across trucking, rail, storage, equipment maintenance, customs services, security, and local supply industries. As throughput grows, those secondary effects become part of the port’s wider value to the economy.

The 2035 forecast gives MICT a long-range role in India’s trade infrastructure. As sourcing strategies diversify and manufacturers look beyond single-origin supply models, ports with scale, inland reach, and efficient multimodal links are likely to attract more strategic attention from exporters and global logistics providers.