Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has entered into an in-principle agreement, through its subsidiary Adani Kattupalli Port Private (AKPPL), for the strategic acquisition of Kattupalli Port in Tamil Nadu from L&T Shipbuilding (LTSB), according to the Financial Express.
This deal also includes opting into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with L&T Shipbuilding for evaluating the operations of Kattupalli Port, with effect from October 2015 for a period of one month.
Adani Ports said in a statement: “This is subject to receiving the necessary approvals from the government of Tamil Nadu and Central government and the port is being demerged from LTSB. Currently, L&T operates both the port and shipyard under a single entity LTSB.”
Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, said: “The Kattupalli agreement is yet another step by us to continue 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 Port commenced operations in January, 2013 and has two berths with a total quay length of around 710 metres.
Fact File: The Adani Group, with revenues of over US$10 billion owns and operates seven ports and terminals, including Mundra, Dahej and Kandla in Gujarat.
