APSEZ doubles Gautam Adani-owned Dhamra Port capacity to 50 million tonne

Revised master plan envisaged port capacity at 315 MT with 35 berths

Gautam Adani owed Dhamra port on the eastern coast has doubled its capacity to 50 million tonne with addition of two bulk cargo berths and one barge berth.

Dhamra port, which was acquired by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) from Tata Steel and L & T in 2014, was operating with two berths of 25 million tonne capacity till date.

The new facilities have been put up under Phase-II expansion of the port which envisaged 108 million tonne cargo capacity with an investment of over Rs 100 billion

Meanwhile, the company has submitted a revised master plan seeking environment clearance (EC) that aims to increase the final port capacity to 315 million tonne with construction of 35 berths.

Besides, two bulk berths and one barge berth, a fertiliser storage complex with capacity to handle 3 million tonne of fertiliser annually was commissioned today.

The company has spent Rs 30 billion in the Phase II work till now.

The port’s second phase expansion also included establishment of a 5 million tonne per annum LNG terminal and 2.5 million tonne capacity LPG terminal. The LNG terminal, being put up in joint venture with Indian Oil Corporation and GAIL, is estimated to cost Rs 50 billion. The LPG terminal will cost about Rs 30 billion. Both the projects are slated to go on stream in 2020-21.

“With an envisaged capacity of 315 million tonne Dhamra will emerge as India’s largest deep water port and also serve as India’s major gateway for trade with South East Asian Nations. We would like to thank the Odisha government for their support in completing phase-II expansion work which will enhance growth, trade and industry for Odisha and India”, said Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group.

“This expansion will help us achieve our vision of 200 million tonne cargo capacity by 2020, well ahead of time and we now aim to touch 500 million tonne by the year 2025”,  Karan Adani, CEO, APSEZ.

Apart from Dhamra in Odisha, APSEZ operates ports in Mundra, Hazira, Tuna-Tekra (Kandla) and Dahej in Gujarat, Katupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu and operates specialized coal handling facilities at Mormugao in Goa and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, it is setting up a container transhipment hub at Vizinjham in Kerala.

The company also proposes to set up an industrial park near its port at Dhamra for which it has sought 1000 acres land from the Odisha government. The park could be a hub for LNG and energy based units, chemical and pharmaceutical and food processing manufacturers, said Subrat Tripathy, COO of Dhamra port.

The phase II expansion was today inaugurated by Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik amidst other dignitaries.