The Adani Group is poised to commission a dry bulk terminal in Gujarat’s Kandla Port Trust. The Union government has issued a letter of intent on the project to the Ahmedabad-based diversified business conglomerate, according to a senior shipping ministry official.
This time the 1988-founded group would not have to worry on the security clearance. Adani, which has been dabbling with the issue in projects like Mundra Port, has secured the clearance well in advance in the case of this endeavour in Tuna, 20 km off Kandla.
Otherwise, the company has not got the security clearance for the bidding for two projects at Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, including the fourth container terminal and the 330-metre quay length, besides a project each at the ports in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and in Kandla of Kutch region.
The bulk terminal project at Kandla is one of the 23 public private partnership projects that the shipping ministry had set out to award for the current financial year. With a capacity of 14.11 million tonnes per annum, the project is expected to be build at an investment of Rs 1,060 crore.
The Guatam Adani-led entity is also developing terminals at Hazira, Mormugao and Visakhapatnam, besides Abbot Point in Australia. The company aims to handle 200 million tonnes of cargo by 2020.
The Group established one of India’s largest private-sector ports and special economic zones at Mundra, and operates another port at Dahej -- also in Bharuch.
Adani Port and SEZ handled 48.48 million metric tonnes in nine months of 2011-12, as against 37.62 mmt in nine months of 2010-11.
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The company’s net profit stood at Rs 311 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 — up 36 per cent against Rs 228 crores in the corresponding quarter last year. The total income for the third quarter rose 53 per cent at Rs 693 crore — up 53 per cent from Rs 453 crore in same period last year.
The company handled 16.60 million tonnes of cargo during the quarter, showing an increase of 34 per cent over same period last year.
It was in June 2011 that the Union Cabinet cleared the Kandla project. The request for qualification for the project was received in August 2008. A year later, the request for proposal was issued.
The shipping ministry is planning to increase the port capacity of the country to three billion tonnes with an investment of Rs 3 lakh crore by 2020, according to its Maritime Agenda 2020.