Adani Ports acquires Karaikal Port for Rs 1,485 crore

Adani Group's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Saturday (April 2) acquired Karaikal Port Private Limited (KPPL) for Rs 1,485 crore. Adani Ports completed the acquisition of KPPL only after getting the approval of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Earlier, Adani Ports announced a successful resolution applicant under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of KPPL. Karaikal Port is an all-weather deep-water port on the Eastern Coast of India. Which was built by the Government of Puducherry on a Build, Operate and Transfer format under Public-Private Partnership.
Karaikal Port was commissioned in 2009 and is developed in the Karaikal district of the Union Territory of Puducherry, about 300 km south of Chennai. It is the only major port between Chennai and Tuticorin and its strategic location gives the port easy access to the industrial-rich areas of central Tamil Nadu.
Adani Ports said in a statement that the port is close to the containerized cargo-oriented industry centers of Tamil Nadu and the upcoming 9 MMTPA CPCL refinery. Karan Adani, CEO and Whole-time Director, of APSEZ, said, “The acquisition of Karaikal Port is another milestone in consolidating our position as India's largest transport utility. After buying Karaikal Port, now Adani Ports will become a company operating 14 ports in India.
Karan Adani said, “APSEZ will spend Rs 850 crore over time to upgrade infrastructure to reduce logistics costs for customers. We are working on doubling the port's capacity in the next 5 years and also adding a container terminal to make it a multipurpose port.
Karaikal Port has a water draft of 14 meters and is spread over a land area of over 600 acres. Its existing infrastructure includes 5 operational berths, 3 railway sidings, mechanized bulk cargo handling systems including mechanized wagon-loading and truck-loading systems, 2 mobile harbour cranes and a large cargo storage space. Which includes one open yard, 10 covered warehouses and 4 liquid storage tanks.
With a built-in cargo handling capacity of 21.5 MMT, the port mainly handles Coal, Cement, Fertilizer, Limestone, Steel and Liquids. The upcoming 9 MMTPA new refinery of CPCL at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu will present an opportunity for Karaikal Port to handle much larger volumes of liquid cargo.