Adani Group has drawn up a plan to ramp up cargo handling capacity of its deep draught port in Odisha- the Dhamra port, to 300 MnT per annum (mtpa). The port currently has a capacity to handle 25 MnT of cargo each year from its two berths and is working to expand capacity to 100 mtpa under its second phase expansion.
The authorities of Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL), a special purpose vehicle that manages the port operations has sought permission from the Union ministry of environment, forest & climate change to expand capacity. DPCL is a fully owned subsidiary of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) which oversees ports and logistics operations for the Adani Group. The larger plan, here is to scale up the Dhamra port to bring it at par with APSEZ’s flagship port operations at Mundra. The port has been in commercial operations since May 2011.
“Reaching a cargo volume of 300 MnT is a long-term vision and may take 2030 or beyond to realise. We have already submitted a revised master plan to the Union environment ministry. This master plan envisages 35 berths compared to 14 approved in the original plan. Also, the cargo handling capacity is nearly thrice from 108 MnT to 300 MnT”, said an APSEZ source.
He declined a comment on the investment required for such expansion.
The massive expansion needs significant land. Hence, DPCL authorities have decided to reclaim 2000 acres of land after obtaining approval. DPCL, meanwhile, has already received advance possession of 686 acres of land from the Odisha government to go ahead with its second phase expansion.
In the second phase, DPCL is raising cargo capacity to 100 mtpa to diversify to liquid cargo and containers. This phase expansion needs INR 10,000 crore. In this phase, the proposed LNG terminal costing INR 6000 crore, is also expected to be commissioned. The port is gearing up to start construction activity on the LNG terminal proposed to be built at a cost of INR 6000 crore. Apart from Adani Enterprises, Indian Oil and GAIL would have stakes in the project.
Recently, a pact was signed between these three entities. According to this pact, Indian Oil and GAIL would have 39 per cent and 11 per cent stake respectively in the project. The rest 50 per cent equity would be held by Adani Enterprises.
The proposed LNG terminal would have a re-gasification capacity of five MnT per annum. It would be the sixth LNG terminal on the east coast and feed Indian Oil’s refineries at Paradip, Haldia and Barauni apart from offering feedstock to some fertilizer units.
Dhamra port notched up a cargo volume of 10.55 MnT in the April-September period of this fiscal. This marks a growth of 50 per cent in traffic over the comparable period of 2015-16.
The stellar cargo performance is on the back of surging imports of coking coal and limestone. On the export traffic, the turnaround in iron ore cargo bolstered volumes for the port.
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