Adani back on investment track after Hindenburg, with mega plans in Andhra

In what is being seen as the first major public appearance by the Adani family after the Hindenburg row, Karan Adani announced mega investments by his group in Andhra Pradesh, at the state’s investor summit on Friday.

This includes the setting up of two cement units with a combined capacity of 10 million tonne per annum (MTPA), a 15,000-mega watt (Mw) renewable power project, a 400-Mw data centre and plans to add 100 million metric tonnes of capacity in the port sector.

This comes at a time when neither Gautam Adani nor anyone else from the family was present at the much-hyped investor summit held by the government of Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow last month. Karan Adani is the chief executive officer of Adani Ports and SEZ and the son of Gautam Adani. The mega investment announcement also comes at a time when the Adani Group is battling allegations of stock manipulation and fraud raised by Hindenburg Research. This can be seen as the first big-ticket announcement after the charges came out. Karan Adani said the Adani Group is active in multiple sectors such as ports, logistics, power, edible oil and data centres in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the Andhra government, Adani Green Energy itself has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) that may involve an investment of about Rs 21,820 crore and create 14,000 jobs. Karan Adani said his group is planning to double the capacity at its existing two ports at Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram. “The Adani Group’s commitment to the state’s vision for port-led industrial development is reflected in our actions. Currently, Adani Group operates two large private ports in Andhra Pradesh with a total capacity of 100 million metric tonnes a year. In the next five years, we aim to add another 100 MMT and transform these ports into industrial port cities,” he said.

The renewable power projects of 15,000 Mw announced by the group on Friday will also come up in a few years in Anantapur, Kadappa, Kurnool, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts. Another mega investment announced by the younger Adani was in cement. “Ambuja and ACC Cement, as part of our expansion plans in the coming years, will be setting up two plants in Kadappa and Nadikudi, with a total capacity of 10 million tonne per annum,” Adani added.

With the data centre business gathering momentum in India, the group is also planning to set up a 400 Mw data centre at Visakhapatnam, the new executive capital of the state. “These projects will not only bring further investment but will also create job opportunities. They demonstrate our commitment to sustainable growth of the state of Andhra Pradesh,” he said. These projects are in addition to around Rs 20,000 crore already invested in the state by the group, which has created more than 18,000 direct and 54,000 indirect jobs.