AHMEDABAD: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India's largest port developer and operator has, through its subsidiary Adani Kattupalli Port Private Limited (AKPPL), entered into an in principle agreement for strategic acquisition of the Kattupalli Port in Tamil Nadu from L&T Shipbuilding Limited(LTSB) a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited. This is subject to receiving the necessary approvals from the Government of Tamil Nadu and Central Government and the port being demerged from LTSB. Currently L&T operates both the port and shipyard under a single entity, “L&T Ship Building Limited".
While awaiting the necessary approvals, APSEZ through its subsidiary AKPPL has entered into an arrangement to take over the operations of the Port.
Speaking on the development, Mr Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group said, "The Kattupalli agreement is yet another step by us to continue to enable the development of the port infrastructure that is critical for our Country. The Kattupalli Port is a strategic complement to our Ennore Container terminal which is getting commissioned next year. Both these Ports will substantially help reduce congestion in the region and will thereby help contribute to the rapid growth of the State of Tamil Nadu and the surrounding regions.
Kattupalli is a deep water all weather Port with an international container terminal located 35 kms from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and well connected to the hinterland. The Port commenced commercial operations in January 2013 and has two berths with a total quay length of about 710 meters. The berths are equipped with six quay cranes and designed to handle container, dry bulk & break-bulk cargo. Currently, the port has a cargo handling capacity of 1.2 Million TEUs per annum. There is an environmental approval for further expansion.
The Kattupalli Port is located adjacent to and north of Ennore Port, where APSEZ is developing the Ennore container terminal. This move of APSEZ is yet another step to continue to build out a network of Ports across the Indian coastline and further expand its footprint across the South East Coast.
