Govt Enforces ‘Melt and Pour’ Rule for All Steel in Public Projects Nippon Steel expected to finalize U.S. Steel acquisition at $55 per share NMDC Limited reports a 38% drop in Q4 FY24 consolidated net profit RINL to Raise $23 Million Through Land Sales Amid Crisis
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), led by Gautam Adani, has secured environmental and coastal regulation zone approval from the Centre to double the capacity of its flagship port in Mundra to 514 MT with an investment of ₹45,000 crore. This could help APSEZ's argument when it asks the Gujarati government to extend the port's concession tenure, which is set to expire in 2031 after 30 years.
The port, located in Gujarat's Kutch district, currently has a design capacity and environmental and coastal regulation zone approval to handle 225 mt of cargo per year, including 9.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a standard container measurement.
APSEZ said in its volume guidance for the fiscal year that began in April that it is expected to cross the 200 MT mark in cargo handling in FY25. This will make it the country’s first port to achieve this feat. Globally, capacity utilisation of 70% is considered the ideal level for ports/terminals to operate efficiently without facing congestion and productivity issues.
With the port growing in double digits over the past few years, putting it on course to reach the full rated capacity soon, APSEZ had applied to the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) attached to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to raise the capacity by 289 MT - 514 MT as part of the expansion of the Waterfront Development Plan spread over 3,335 hectares at Mundra port. The capacity expansion will cater to multi-purpose, liquid, gas and cryogenic cargo. The EAC recommendation must be signed off by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which is a mere formality.
Mundra’s expansion is critical for APSEZ’s aim to become the world’s biggest transport utility and port operator by 2030. Currently, it has a network of 15 ports/terminals on India’s coastline with a capacity to handle some 627 MT of cargo a year. It also runs the Haifa Port in Israel, a container terminal at the Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania and is building a box terminal at the Colombo port.
In FY24, APSEZ handled 420 MT of cargo, accounting for 27% of India’s total cargo and 44% of the nation’s container cargo. The operator said it plans to handle 1 billion tonnes of cargo over the next 5-6 years or by 2030.
Adani’s commitment to spend some ₹45,000 crores to expand Mundra’s capacity in phases just seven years before the concession ends in 2031 is seen as an attempt to convince the state government to agree to a rollover, considering the long period involved in getting a return on investments, a factor typical to infrastructure sector such as ports.
The concession for the Mundra port and other private ports operating at Hazira, Pipavav, and Dahej, which the Gujarat government awarded for development and operations more than two decades ago, does not have an automatic extension clause written into the agreements when the 30-year period ends.
Also Read : Coal ministry seeks 600 trains daily to augment supply to power plants in summer RINL seeks Andhara govt's intervention for supply of coking coal from Adani Gangavaram Port
JSW Steel has commissioned a hot strip mill at its integrated steel plant in Vijayanagar, Karnataka....
Ferrous 01-Apr-2024
JSW Steel requests ₹19,300 crore refund from banks. Seeks 60-day stay on BPSL liquidation proceedin...
Business 23-May-2025
✔️ Potential US tariffs threaten Indian steel and aluminum exports.✔️ Exporters may seek alternative...
Business 26-Mar-2025
By 2027, at the latest, Czech automaker Skoda Auto will start building electric cars in India, a sen...
Large Corporate 28-Feb-2024
On a cumulative basis from April 2023 - Jan 2024, a freight loading of 1,297.38 MT was achieved agai...
Logistics 02-Feb-2024
In its Field Season for 2024–2025, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified 1,055 r...
Non-Ferrous 23-Jan-2024