Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd is in a “sweet spot in India” specially with its “strategic assets” and in view of increasing appetite for investment in infrastructure in the country, the company’s CEO, Karan Adani, said.
The company is currently expanding globally, but anticipates India to be the primary driver of its growth.
In India, the company operates terminals on the west coast that inlcude Mundra, Dahej, Tuna and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa and Dighi in Maharashtra; while on the east coast it operates five ports and terminals that include Dhamra in Odisha, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu.
According to Adani, the company is eyeing the possibility of generating around $250 million in revenue from its participation in Colombo West International Terminal Pvt. Ltd. (CWIT) project.
“India’s growth story has just started and as manufacturing and infra spend increases, core commodities requirements will increase. Thus, requirement for container traffic will go up as well. While India’s GDP grows at over 7 per cent, trade will grow at approximately 10 per cent. Not many countries in the world are seeing trade grow at that rate. So we are in a sweet spot with the assets which we have, it makes us positive that India is where our growth will come from,” Adani told businessline.
Colombo port
On Tuesday, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) – the development finance institution of the US government - has pledged $553 million in funding for the deep-water terminal of Colombo West International Terminal Pvt Ltd (CWIT) project.
The CWIT project consist of a consortium involving Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, John Keells Holdings (JKH), and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
Post completion, the terminal will handle 3.2 million twenty equivalent units (TEUs).
Sri Lanka was hit by a major economic crisis last year. When asked if this is a matter of concern for the company, to generate profitability, Adani said, transhipment port don’t rely on the local economy. “It is the cargo from neighboring countries that in essence doesn’t get affected. It depends on how the neighboring countries are doing and trade rates.”
Kerala transshipment port
The CWIT is the second transshipment project of the company, Vizhinjam Port in Kerala is its second.
In the first phase, the Kerala port will have the capacity to handle one million TEUs and will subsequently be ramped up to 4.2 million TEUs as the project gets completion.
When asked if the company was eyeing acquisition opportunities overseas(across ports)Adani said, the company doesn’t have a goal in terms of ports but “is eyeing 500 million tonne capacity by 2025”.
“We’re a growth-oriented company, and India’s hunger for infrastructure development aligns perfectly with our goals. Having said that, we are open to similar (acquisition and investment) opportunities elsewhere as well,” he said.