State-run container port JNPT on Thursday asked the central government to ensure private sector Mundra port run by the Adanis does not get precedence in connectivity to the dedicated freight corridor (DFC), which was originally meant for the former’s cargo.

The largest container port in the country said Mundra getting connected first on the corridor will impact its business “adversely” as cargo in the hinterland will move to the Adani-run port, and sought the government’s help to ensure it also gets connected to the DFC.

JNPT chairman Sanjay Sethi also made it clear that the project was running behind schedule and added that the Railway Board chairman had visited the port in connection with the same.

“We’ve been pushing it because we are saying that if it goes to Mundra first, obviously we’re affected in an adverse way. That’s a fact. We’ve been making a noise everywhere, that please expedite it,” Sethi told reporters here.

The nearly 1,500km western DFC will be connecting JNPT with Dadri on the outskirts of the national capital and aims to build dedicated railway lines to ensure smoother movement of containers from the port to the hinterland, and vice-versa.

It also connects ports, including Kandla, Pipavav and Mundra, in Gujarat with the hinterland, but it is the Gautam Adani-run port which has already become the largest port by cargo handling and competes with JNPT, which can benefit the most.

He, however, made it clear that from an economic gains perspective, both private and state-run ports will benefit equally from a project such as the freight corridor.