Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said its portfolio of eight ports/terminals across India handled a combined 200 million tonnes (mt) of cargo during the current fiscal. The private port operator said in a statement it has set a target of doubling the cargo handling to 400 mt by 2025.

In comparison, the 12 ports run by the Central government handled a combined 634 mt of cargo between April 2018 and February 2019.

Karan Adani, Chief Executive Office (CEO), APSEZ, said, "Our projections were to reach this milestone by 2020 but we could achieve it ahead of schedule courtesy the tech-driven operational efficiency and enhanced asset utilisation. Robust capacity addition at our leading ports such as Dhamra and Mundra as well as deepening presence closer the hinterland with new facilities such as Ennore and Kattupalli played a critical role in this journey."

He further added that the focus on adding value as an integrated logistics player and coastal shipping of coal further bolstered the process. 

Collectively the company has generated over 100,000 jobs, educated over 25,000 students and touched over 200,000 lives, a statement said here.

Fleet and fuel management, asset monitoring, digitalisation of processes, mobility, operational intelligence and performance monitoring of the applications - the journey that began around a year ago has begun reaping benefits, it added.

"The focus for the immediate future is to reduce the turnaround time, drive up volumes without adding resources and increase in-transit visibility utilisation by eliminating unproductive trips among other benefits. The sweetest part of the deal is for our customers who get real-time status of operations from the comfort of their locations," added Adani.

Starting with the Mundra Port in Kutch, Adani Ports and SEZ made several key additions to the portfolio. Non-major ports were also developed at Hazira, Dhamra, Dahej and the latest at Kattupalli.

Terminals were developed within major ports of the country at Ennore, Kandla, Goa and Vizag from 2005 to 2018. 

The Mundra Port remains the crown jewel, but the feat of handling 200 MMT cargo has not been achieved by one port alone, the company added.

Proximity and rail/road connectivity to the vast and rich north-western hinterland, state-of-the-art modern port infrastructure and equipment, zero waiting time for ships, faster turn-around time and competitive rates contributed to this phenomenal growth of Adani Ports, it said, adding that APSEZ introduced initiatives like development of eRTGs which were unheard of till now in India. 

Adani Ports & SEZ shares traded at Rs 370 with marginal gains of 0.5 per cent in early trades on the National Stock Exchange (NSE)

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