Growing over 18 percent in the Finacial Year 2021 (FY21), Mundra Port, in the Indian state of Gujarat has overtaken Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), handling 5.65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the current financial year.
In comparison, JNPT handled only around 4.67 million TEUs in FY21, recording a decline of 7.04 percent over FY20.
Mundra Port is the flagship port of Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), headed by Indian Industrialist Gautam Adani. The conglomerate is India’s largest private port operator.
For FY21, Mundra handled 144.4 million tonnes (mt) of cargo, reining in a steady growth of 4 percent on a year-on-year basis, as per Hindu Business Line.
APSEZ has been on an acquisition spree recently, with the port deciding to acquire a 31.5 percent stake in Gangavaram Port Limited (GPL), located near Vishakhapatnam. It’s part of the company’s ‘string of ports’ acquisition strategy.
For a country that has seen large-scale government investments in port infrastructure for decades now, a private player taking the title of the biggest container port marks a new era in the Indian chapter.
APSEZ, with its combined port holdings, constitutes 24 percent of India’s port capacity. Running 12 ports and terminals across India, it is the largest port developer and operator in the country.
Categorizing the 12 ports as per Indian states, APSEZ operates Mundra, Dahej, Tuna, and Hazira in Gujarat, Visakhapatnam, and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Dhamra in Odisha, Mormugao in Goa, Dighi in Maharashtra, and Kattupalli and Ennore in Chennai.
Source: Maritime-News
