Essar Ports

In order to complete its asset monetisation drive to effectively become debt free, Essar Ports & Terminals Ltd (EPTL) and Essar Power Ltd (EPL) on Monday concluded the $2.05 billion (Rs 16,500 crore) sale of captive ports and power assets located in Hazira and Paradip to Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd (AM/NS).

The latest development comes at a time when reports indicate that Maersk is planning to double its warehousing presence in India in the next one year

The Major Ports Authorities Bill passed by Parliament on Wednesday will help develop a faster and transparent decision making process, Essar Ports said

Essar Ports invested Rs 11,000 crore in developing terminals and is currently operating four terminals

Expansion at Hazira will increase the company's total capacity to 110 million tonne per annum

The company also expects to build a coal terminal in Mozambique, where it has constructed a rail network of 550 km for coal exports

With the current investments made, the company expects its operational capacity would stand at 110 mtpa in CY18

Plans to invest further to take capacity to 150 MTPA in next two years

Typically, each terminal will cost between $150-300 million, depending on the amount of work to be carried out, he said, adding that the capacity will range between 2.5-5 million tonnes

Essar Ports today said it has entered into a concession pact with Mozambique government to develop a new 20 MTPA coal terminal at Beira Port in the Southeast African country. "Essar Ports has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Government of Mozambique to develop a new coal terminal at Beira Port, as part of a public private partnership (PPP) project," the company said in a statement. The project will be executed on design, build, own, operate and transfer (DBOOT) basis through an arm -- New Coal Terminal Beira, SA (NCTB SA) -- a JV of Essar and Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mombique. The project will augment the coal handling capacity of Mozambique by 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). "We would like to congratulate the Government of Mozambique for this initiative. It will not only boost coal exports from Mozambique and strengthen its economy, but also deliver significant direct and indirect benefits," Essar Ports CEO & Managing Director Rajiv Agarwal said.

Company eyes Rs 1,700 crore EBITDA by FY19 via capacity expansion at all terminals

Essar Ports Ltd, a leading port operator in the country with a current capacity of 140 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), is planning to build a Rs 10,000 crore greenfield commercial port in Gujarat's Dwarka, said a senior company official. Besides, with its modernisation project at its Vishakhapatnam port expected to be completed by September, the company also expects 50 per cent growth in cargo from the port. Rajiv Agarwal, CEO and managing director of Essar Ports Ltd confirmed that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) which administers and regulates the 41 state-owned non-major ports of Gujarat during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January this year. "We have signed an MoU during the Vibrant Summit in this regard. Work on a detailed project report (DPR) is on. We are now working on approvals for the project, which might take some time," Agarwal told Business Standard. Investment of over Rs 10,000 crore is planned for the project .

Essar Ports, which operates port terminals on the east and west coasts of the country, has recorded a 25 per cent growth in its cargo traffic in 2016-17.The consolidated cargo handling across the company's five operational ports at Hazira (Gujarat), Paradip (Odisha), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Salaya (Gujarat) and Vadinar (Gujarat) rose to 72.86 million tonnes in 2016-17, compared to 58.27 million tonne in the previous fiscal. Third-party traffic grew by 60 per cent.Essar Ports's dry bulk cargo rose 52 per cent at 30.39 million tonne (mt) compared to 19.97 mt in 2015-16. The anchor customer of Essar Ports' dry bulk terminals at Hazira, Paradip and Visakhapatnam is Essar Steel.Rajiv Agarwal, managing director & chief executive officer, Essar Ports, said: "I am delighted with the robust growth in cargo traffic across our ports and terminals in FY17. I am especially happy about the remarkable growth in bulk cargo because that is where the future lies. We expect higher growth in .

Substantial growth in cargo traffic at these ports indicates heightened activity at Essar Steel

Essar Ports is one of the largest port companies of India, with a current capacity of 140 million tonne per annum

Interview with Rajiv Agarwal

The company's consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 151.66 crore from Rs 159.69 crore in the year-ago period

Terminal to handle third-party cargo for period of three years

Expects 40% growth in business on year-on-year basis