Tribunal approves acquisition of Karaikal Port by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone

File photo of Karaikal Port. Photo: Special Arrangement

The National Company Law Tribunal has approved the acquisition of Karaikal Port (KPPL) by the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), the largest transport utility in India, the Adani Group firm said on April 3.

Earlier, APSEZ was declared as the successful resolution applicant under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of KPPL. The amount considered for the acquisition is ₹1,485 crore. According to the statement, Karaikal Port is an all-weather deep-water port on India’s eastern coast that was developed on the build, operate and transfer format under the public-private partnership by the government of Puducherry.

The Karaikal Port was commissioned in 2009, and was developed in the Karaikal district of the Union Territory of Puducherry, around 300 KMS south of Chennai. It is the only major port between Chennai & Tuticorin, and its strategic location allows the port easy access to industrial-rich hinterland of Central Tamil Nadu, according to the statement.

The port gets a 14-meter water draft and has a land area of over 600 acres, according to the statement from APSEZ. Its existing infrastructure includes five operational berths, three railway sidings, mechanised bulk cargo handling system including mechanized wagon-loading and truck-loading systems, two mobile harbour cranes and a large cargo storage space that includes open yards, 10 covered warehouses and four liquid storage tanks. With a built-in cargo handling capacity of 21.5 MMT, the port primarily handles, cement, fertilizer, limestone, steel and liquids, APSEZ said.

The upcoming CPCL’s 9 MMTPA new refinery at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu presents an opportunity for Karaikal Port to handle an additional large volume of liquid cargo. Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole-time Director, APSEZ, said, “The acquisition of Karaikal Port is another milestone in consolidating our position as India’s largest transport utility. With acquisition of Karaikal port APSEZ now operates 14 ports in India.”

Karan Adani added, “APSEZ will spend further Rs 850 crore over time to upgrade infrastructure in order to reduce the logistics cost for the customers. We are envisaging to double the capacity of the port in the next 5 years and also add container terminal to make it a multipurpose port.”

In FY23, Karaikal Port handled 10 million tonne of cargo, according to the statement.