The eight projects tracked below carry about 56 million TEU of new container capacity between them on my own addition, and almost none of it arrives before 2028. That gap between the press release and the first ship is the whole story of port investment, so this ranking sorts live projects by the capacity they will actually add plus the year they expect to add it, rather than by the size of the announcement.
I have kept out schemes that exist only as approvals or feasibility studies, which removes a long list of familiar names. Everything below has dredging done, caissons in the water, quay walls rising or terminals already partly operating. Where a published cost figure conflicts between sources I have shown both, because a project quoted across a wide range is telling you something about its financing.
The ranking
| Project | Country | Capacity added, million TEU | Announced cost | Target year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vadhavan | India | 23.2 | 76,220 crore rupees | 2034 |
| Tuas Phase 2 | Singapore | 21.0 | not disclosed by phase | first berth 2028 |
| Vizhinjam merged Phases 2 to 4 | India | 4.7 | 16,000 crore rupees | December 2028 |
| Grand Faw Phase 1 | Iraq | 4.0 | within a 17 billion dollar corridor | 2028 |
| Europa Terminal rebuild | Belgium | 2.5 total terminal | not disclosed | 2032 |
| Ndayane | Senegal | 1.2 | 1.2 billion dollars | 2028 |
| Chancay full build | Peru | up to 15 berths | 3.6 billion dollars | 2027 onward |
| Alexandria and Ain Sokhna terminals | Egypt | not published | 700 million dollars | staged |
Vadhavan: the largest number on the list, and the furthest away
India's greenfield port at Vadhavan, about 120 miles north of Nhava Sheva, is designed for 23.2 million TEU a year across nine container terminals, each with a kilometre of quay. Cost is put at 76,220 crore rupees, near 9 billion dollars depending on the exchange date used, and completion is targeted for 2034. Deep water without dredging restrictions is the selling point, which is what lets the design accept the largest container ships afloat.
The scale is genuine and so is the distance. A 2034 target means the capacity influences the Indian west coast market in the 2030s, not this decade, and Indian port projects have a record of phase slippage. What Vadhavan changes now is investment behaviour at competing terminals, which is visible in our ranking of the biggest ports in India.
Tuas Phase 2: the one that is physically closest to delivery
Singapore's Tuas programme is the most advanced megaproject in the set. Reclamation for Phase 2 was close to 80 percent complete by March 2026, covering roughly 956 acres and designed to add 21 million TEU, with the first berth expected operational in 2028. The construction method is worth noting: 227 concrete caissons sunk into the seabed to form the perimeter, a technique that trades cost for speed on soft ground.
Phase 1 already runs 21 deep-water berths and Tuas passed 25 million TEU handled in August 2026. The full master plan reaches 66 berths plus 65 million TEU, which would make it the largest automated container facility built. Operators comparing automation models will find the technology comparison in our review of the most automated container terminals.
Grand Faw: capacity tied to a corridor that is not funded
Iraq's Grand Faw port is building five main container berths behind a submerged tunnel that reached 86 percent completion by August 2026. Phase 1 targets 4 million TEU, about 36 million tonnes of containerised freight plus some 22 million tonnes of dry bulk, for 2028. The long-range design runs to 100 berths and 7.5 million TEU by 2038, which would exceed Jebel Ali's berth count.
The port is the sea end of the Development Road, a 1,200 kilometre rail plus highway corridor to the Turkish border whose designs are near complete while its financing is not. That distinction matters for anyone modelling Faw as a gateway rather than a local port: the quay may open on schedule with no railway behind it. Regional volume context sits in our ranking of the biggest ports in the Middle East.
Vizhinjam, and the Indian benchmark that is already finished
Vizhinjam is adding capacity faster than Vadhavan will, because it builds on an operating terminal rather than an empty coast.
The port was commissioned on 2 May 2025. In January 2026 Adani committed 16,000 crore rupees and Kerala's chief minister inaugurated follow-on work merging what were phases 2, 3 and 4 into one push aimed at December 2028, against 2045 under the original schedule. It lifts throughput from roughly 1 million TEU to 5.7 million, adds 1,200 metres of quay plus permanent rail. On 18 August 2026 Vizhinjam began EXIM operations, turning a pure transhipment hub into a gateway for Indian cargo, which is what makes the expansion bankable rather than speculative.
The cost record is untidy: 16,000 crore rupees in one account, around 10,000 crore in another, plus 9,540 crore quoted for a narrower phase scope. Those are not rounding differences, they are different scopes, and I treat the highest figure as the one that includes contingency. Completion dates split the same way, December 2028 in the recent announcements against 2029 in some earlier reporting.
One Indian scheme belongs in the discussion but not in the ranking. Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal at Nhava Sheva opened its phase 2 on 4 September 2025 for an indicative 3,196 crore rupees, doubling capacity to 4.8 million TEU across a 2,000 metre quay and taking JNPA past 10 million. Being finished disqualifies it here, yet it sets my benchmark: per unit delivered it undercuts everything still under way, the standing advantage of enlarging a site that already owns road, rail plus labour. When a greenfield bid quotes far above that, the gap measures land, dredging and access roads.
Ndayane and Chancay: the two that are running ahead of schedule
Senegal's Ndayane is the discipline story of 2026. Major dredging finished 13 months early in July, phase 1 carries an 837 million dollar investment inside a 1.2 billion dollar total, and the design gives an 840 metre quay plus a 300 hectare terminal handling 1.2 million TEU, with completion planned for 2028. Phase 2 adds a further quay for 290 million dollars. More than 1,000 people work on site. West African gateway competition is ranked in our list of the busiest ports in Africa.
Chancay in Peru is already open and still building, so it offers a track record rather than a projection. Between commercial start-up in June 2025 and May 2026 it moved 502,646 TEU plus 2.4 million tonnes, figures presented at its first anniversary on 18 June 2026, against a phase 1 design of 1 million TEU yearly. Vessel calls rose 44 percent year on year through May. Total investment runs above 3.6 billion dollars, of which about 1.3 billion covered the first phase, and the final configuration reaches as many as 15 berths. Channel dredging is scheduled to finish by the end of 2026 so larger vessels can call from 2027. Its regional effect is covered in our ranking of the busiest ports in Latin America.
Europe and Egypt: rebuilds rather than expansions
Antwerp's Europa Terminal is being reconstructed in phases while it keeps working, with the first phase due in 2026 including a shore power installation for large vessels, and full operation at 2.5 million TEU by 2032. Nothing about it is greenfield, which is the European pattern now: land is unavailable, so capacity comes from rebuilding quay walls to take deeper ships.
Egypt's additions come through terminal operators rather than the state. Hutchison Ports is investing about 700 million dollars across Ain Sokhna plus a new container terminal at Alexandria, while the Tahya Misr 2 multipurpose terminal at Dekheila reached 99.5 percent completion. Egyptian ports have been absorbing rerouted Gulf trade through 2026, which strengthens the commercial case that was written before the reroutings began.
How to read a capacity table like this one
Three cautions apply before these figures go into a plan.
The first is added versus total. Vadhavan's 23.2 million TEU is new capacity at a port that does not exist, while Antwerp's 2.5 million is the eventual throughput of a terminal that already handles cargo. Comparing them directly overstates Europe's contribution and understates India's.
The second is the phase boundary. Tuas Phase 2 will deliver its first berth in 2028 and its full 21 million TEU years later, so the 2028 date buys a fraction of the number in the table. I apply the same discount to Grand Faw, where the 2028 phase is 4 million TEU against a 2038 design of 7.5 million.
The third is the cost spread. Where a project appears at 16,000 crore rupees in one source and 10,000 in another, the difference usually reflects scope creep across phases rather than a reporting error. Vizhinjam is the clearest case in this set. A wide range signals that the financing package is still being assembled, and unfunded scope is the part that slips.
- Expect nothing material before 2028. The earliest meaningful additions in this ranking are Tuas Phase 2's first berth, Grand Faw Phase 1 plus Ndayane.
- Brownfield beats greenfield on speed and price. Nhava Sheva adds 2.4 million TEU for 3,196 crore rupees, a fraction of greenfield cost per box.
- Check whether a corridor exists behind the quay. Grand Faw's railway designs are near complete while its funding is not.
- Read cost ranges as financing signals. Vizhinjam's spread from 9,540 to 16,000 crore rupees reflects unsettled scope.
- Watch dredging milestones, not ribbon cuttings. Ndayane finished major dredging 13 months early, which is the strongest schedule evidence in the group.
Common questions
Which port project will add the most capacity? Vadhavan in India, designed for 23.2 million TEU across nine terminals at a cost of 76,220 crore rupees, with a 2034 target. Tuas Phase 2 in Singapore follows at 21 million TEU.
Which of these opens first? On current schedules, Tuas Phase 2's first berth, Grand Faw Phase 1 at 4 million TEU plus Ndayane in Senegal, all targeting 2028. Chancay in Peru is already operating and finishes channel dredging by the end of 2026.
How much does new container capacity cost? It varies by an order of magnitude. Nhava Sheva's phase 2 adds 2.4 million TEU for 3,196 crore rupees on an existing site, while greenfield projects such as Ndayane run 1.2 billion dollars for 1.2 million TEU.
Is Grand Faw going to be the largest port in the Middle East? By berth count its 2038 design would be, with 100 berths and 7.5 million TEU. The 2028 phase delivers 4 million TEU, and the corridor railway meant to feed it does not yet have confirmed financing.
Why do published project costs differ so much? Because phases get bundled differently. Vizhinjam appears at 16,000 crore rupees, around 10,000 crore, and 9,540 crore for a narrower phase scope, depending on which scope each source counted. Completion dates split the same way, December 2028 against 2029.
Sources: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore releases on Tuas Phase 2 reclamation and berth delivery, Indian government approvals and Indian Infrastructure reporting for Vadhavan, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority terminal data for Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal, Adani Ports statements and Business Standard reporting on the merged Vizhinjam phases plus the August 2026 start of EXIM operations, DP World releases on Ndayane dredging completion in July 2026, Iraqi Ministry of Transport updates on Grand Faw, BNamericas project records for Chancay, PSA Antwerp releases on the Europa Terminal rebuild, plus Seatrade Maritime reporting on Hutchison Ports investment in Egypt. Capacity and cost figures are as published by each project sponsor and are not directly comparable. Status reflects announcements to 25 August 2026.