PUDUCHERRY : Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has placed an initial bid to buy stressed port company Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd which is undergoing resolution under India’s bankruptcy law, multiple sources said.
Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd runs the all-weather Karaikal Port developed on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) format under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode on a 30-year concession awarded by the Puducherry Government. The port started operations in June 2009.
A potential deal for Karaikal will add to APSEZ’s presence on India’s
Eastern seaboard where it acquired Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram Ports in the last two years. APSEZ also runs ports/terminals at Dhamra, Kattupalli, and Ennore.
On the Western coast, APSEZ runs ports/terminals at Mundra, Tuna, Dahej, Hazira, Dighi and Mormugao.
The 12 Ports/Terminals run by APSEZ on the East and West coasts have a capacity to handle a combined 538 million tonnes (mt) of cargo a year.
APSEZ handled 312 mt of cargo in FY22 at a capacity utilisation of 58 percent compared.
“In three years, we expect to grow our cargo volumes by 60 percent to 500 mt as we target to emerge as the world’s largest port operator and India’s largest transport utility by 2030,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer, APSEZ, said in the firm’s annual report for FY22.
