Dhamra port hopes to get land soon for expansion

2nd phase expansion to cost Rs 10,000 crore

Adani Group owned Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) expects to get land soon for its second phase expansion. The Phase-II expansion estimated to cost Rs 10,000 crore, would add 11 new berths to the port and also raise its capacity four fold to 100 million tonne, up from 25 million tonne presently.

“We had requested the state government for allotment of 736 acres of land for our second phase expansion. The land allotment has been approved by the state government and we hope to get the land soon. The expansion plan involves adding 11 new berths to the port,” said Santosh K Mohapatra, director at DPCL after a meeting with Odisha chief secretary G C Pati.

In May this year, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), part of the Adani Group, had acquired Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) for Rs 5,500 crore.

Prior to the acquisition, DPCL was run as a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd. In one of the biggest port sector deals in recent years, APSEZ has gained a foothold in the eastern sector through the acquisition.

Currently, the port is equipped with two fully mechanised berths with a combined cargo handling capacity of 25 million tonne per annum (mtpa). The two berths are capable of handling 12 million tonne of imported dry bulk cargo and 13 million tonne of cargo for exports. The port commenced commercial operations in May 2011.

The port has obtained environment clearance for the expansion.

The expansion work involves increasing berth strength to 13 from two at present and upgrade cargo handling capacity four-fold from 25 mtpa to 100 mtpa in five years.

The second phase capacity ramp up would also pave the way for a five mtpa LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal to be set up within the port premises by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). The terminal to be set up at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore needed 150 acres of land. Both IOCL and DPCL had signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) for the project.

Dhamra port handled 14.31 million tonne cargo in 2013-14, 29.3 per cent higher than 11.07 million tonne in 2012-13. This included 10.23 million tonne of import cargo and the balance 4.08 million tonne of exports. A total of 192 vessels, including 46 Capesize vessels called at the port in the last fiscal.