Adani Ports acquires Dhamra Port
16 May 2014
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), a company-owned by Ahmedabad-based Adani Group, has acquired the entire stake in Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) for an enterprise value of Rs5,500 crore.
DPCL is a 50:50 joint venture between L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd, and both the companies have divested their entire stake in the port. Adani Group is a leading business conglomerate with revenue of over $8.7 billion.
The Dhamra Ports is a deep draft, all weather multi-user port located on the East Coast of India. The port commenced operations in May 2011 and handled a total cargo of 14.3 million tonne in FY14.
The Ports has two fully mechanised berths, 63 kilometers of a private rail line connecting the Bhadrak station to the main trunk line and has already received environmental clearance for the development of 12 additional berths.
''The Dhamra Ports acquisition now gives us an opportunity to replicate the development and phenomenal growth of the Mundra port on the eastern coast of India and thereby continue to execute on our pan India strategy'' said Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group.
''Nation building for us is ensuring we open up coastal entry and exit points that accelerate industrial development over vast hinterlands. The Dhamra Ports precisely helps us execute in this direction,'' he added.
Following the acquisition, the second phase of development will be initiated within 90 days and completion targeted in 30 months. This continued expansion will allow the Dhamra Ports exceed 100 million tonne of cargo capacity by the year 2020.
Adani Ports intends to become a 200 million metric tonne port before 2020, and this acquisition would help achieve this landmark. Shares in Adani Ports, which hit a high of Rs 235.40 in intra-day, ended up 1.95 per cent at Rs 224.65 on the BSE on Friday.
