Adani Ports in 50:50 JV with French group CMA CGM for container terminal

Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZL) on Friday announced the signing of an agreement with France-based CMA CGM Group to develop a new container terminal at its Mundra Port, at an estimated investment of Rs2,100 crore.

The terminal, being developed as a 50:50 joint venture, will be 650 meters long with a water depth of 16.5 metres, 27 hectares of back area and an annual handling capacity of 1.3 million TEUs.

The terminal will initially have four units of 65-tonne capacity cranes for handling 18,000 TEU vessels and Ultra Large Container Vessels.

Construction will start immediately and the project is expected to be completed in 24 months, Adani Ports stated in a release.

"We are very pleased with this joint venture partnership that will help put our continued expansion at the Mundra port on an even steeper trajectory," said Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group.

The new terminal will allow Gautam Adani-promoted Adani Ports to fulfil its stated vision of handling 200 million metric tonnes of cargo before the year 2020, the statement added.

For CMA CGM, Mundra Container Terminal is the group's first port investment in India. "With this investment, CMA CGM and Adani Ports will develop infrastructure that will play a key role for the development of the country's industry. CMA CGM has strong ambitions in India," Farid T Salem, executive officer of CMA CGM Group said.

The deal is subject to approvals from the regulators, including the Competition Commission of India and the ministry of commerce and industries, the statement added.