Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has emerged as the highest bidder and received the Letter of Award for the development and operation of two dry bulk berths at Paradip Port in Odisha. The project will add 18 million metric tonnes (MMT) of capacity to the company’s port portfolio and strengthen its presence on India’s eastern coast.
The project will be developed under a 30-year concession through the Public-Private Partnership model. APSEZ will develop the CQ-I and CQ-II berths with mechanised cargo handling systems, deep-draft facilities and large-scale storage infrastructure to support the movement of dry bulk commodities. With the addition of the Paradip project, APSEZ’s total port capacity portfolio will reach 671 million metric tonnes per annum. The development also supports the company’s target of handling one billion tonnes of cargo by 2030.
“The Paradip concession will strengthen APSEZ’s presence on the East Coast and expand our access to one of India’s most important industrial and mineral-rich hinterlands. With Paradip, APSEZ’s network grows to 16 ports and terminals across India’s 11,000-km coastline,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ.
Located near major industrial and mineral-producing regions, Paradip is India’s second-largest major port and an important gateway for bulk cargo. The new terminal will increase APSEZ’s ability to handle coal, limestone and other dry bulk commodities while improving its access to industrial and manufacturing clusters across eastern and central India.
The project comes at a time when cargo volumes are increasing across India’s eastern coast. Growing steel production, expansion of industrial capacity and the government’s focus on increasing domestic coal production are expected to support demand for bulk cargo infrastructure.
APSEZ is part of the Adani Group and operates an integrated transport and logistics network spanning ports, marine services, rail logistics, multimodal logistics parks, warehousing and road transportation. The company operates 16 ports and terminals across India’s west, south and east coasts and also has international port operations in Australia, Colombo, Israel and Tanzania. Its marine fleet includes 136 vessels, while its logistics network includes 12 multimodal logistics parks, 3.1 million square feet of warehousing and more than 25,000 trucks operating on its platform.
