Adani Group controlled Dhamra Port, a deep draught port off the coast of north Odisha, is gearing up to start construction activity on the LNG terminal proposed to be built at a cost of Rs 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.
“Now, that the pact has been signed, we are ready to commence construction work on the LNG terminal. A dedicated LNG berth would come up as a part of the project. The LNG terminal project is part of Dhamra port’s second phase expansion wherein we are ramping up our cargo handling capacity to 100 million tonne a year”, said an official at Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ).
The proposed LNG terminal would have a re-gasification capacity of five million tonne 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 fertiliser units.
Both Indian Oil and GAIL had individual plans to develop LNG terminals at Dhamra and Paradip respectively. The two central PSUs had also sealed agreements with the port authorities. But, they shelved these projects and teamed up with the Adanis as individual projects were not thought to be viable.
The LNG import terminal is expected to be commissioned by 2020.
Dhamra port has firmed up plans to expand its cargo handling capacity and diversify to liquid cargo and containers to cut down on its dependence on export traffic. The port promoters intend to invest Rs 10,000 crore on the second phase expansion that will see its cargo throughput capacity expanding four-fold to 100 mt per annum.
The port authorities have got advance possession of 686 acres of land from the Odisha government to go ahead on second phase expansion.
After the expansion, the port will be capable of handling clean cargo, containers, liquid cargo, LNG, containerized cargo and crude oil.
Currently, the port is equipped with two fully mechanised berths with a combined cargo handling capacity of 25 million tonne per annum. The two berths are capable of handling 12 million tonne of imported dry bulk cargo and 13 million tonne of cargo for exports. The port commenced commercial operations in May 2011.
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