ADANI REAPS MARITIME RICHES

Karan Adani led series of acquisitions to make APSEZ a global player in ports.

- P.B. JAYAKUMAR

ZHEN HUA 15, a cargo ship with Hong Kong flag, started from Shanghai in August-end with plans to berth at Vizhinjam international seaport near Thiruvananthapuram in early October. The first ship to berth at the ₹7,525 crore deep-water international seaport and container transshipment terminal at Vizhinjam, under construction since 2015, carries one quay crane and two yard cranes fabricated in China that will be installed at the port. Once commercial operations begin next year, the port, with over 20 metres of draft to berth huge mother vessels, will become a global transshipment hub and transform India’s maritime network. Being developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), it is just 10 nautical miles from international sea route and will compete as a transshipment hub with

Colombo, Singapore and Dubai ports. Estimates say Indian ports lose nearly $220 million revenue due to lack of a transshipment port near the international route. In July last year, a consortium of APSEZ and Israel’s Gadot Group had acquired Haifa Port, the second-largest in Israel, for $1.14 billion. “That will transform APSEZ into a global transport utility that will include logistics and warehousing,” says Karan Adani, wholetime director & CEO of APSEZ.