Environmental clearance to APSEZ to double capacity of Mundra port at a cost of Rs 45,000 cr: Report

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has received environmental and coastal regulation zone clearance from the Centre to double the capacity of Mundra port at a cost of Rs 45,000 crore, a recent media report has said.

APSEZ applied to the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change to increase the Mundra Port’s capacity by 289 million tonnes to 514 million tonnes as part of an expansion plan covering 3,335 hectares. This expansion may bolster APSEZ’s position when negotiating an extension of the concession period for the Mundra port with the Gujarat government.

The period is set to expire in 2031 after a 30-year term.

The Mundra port is located in Gujarat’s Kutch district, and has the capacity and necessary environmental approvals to handle 225 million tonnes of cargo annually. This includes 9.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

It managed 179.6 million tonnes of cargo, including 7.4 million TEUs, in FY24 accounting for over a quarter of all cargo volumes and more than a third of container cargo in India.

For the quarter ending March FY24, the APSEZ reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,039.66 crore. This was a 76.2 per cent spike from Rs 1,157.55 crore reported in the year-ago period. Net profit dropped 8.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter from Rs 2,233.47 crore