Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) announced Wednesday that it has been awarded the Letter of Award (LoA) for the development and operation of two crucial dry bulk berths at Paradip Port in Odisha. This significant achievement led to a notable surge in the company's stock, climbing 4.49 percent to hit a day's high of Rs 1,785.50 in Wednesday's trading session.
Expanding East Coast Presence
Under the terms of the 30-year concession, structured as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), APSEZ will develop the CQ-I and CQ-II berths. This project includes the implementation of advanced mechanised cargo handling systems, deep-draft berths, and extensive large-scale storage infrastructure. The strategic location of Paradip Port is key to accessing India's rich industrial and mineral hinterlands.
Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO at APSEZ, highlighted the importance of this new venture. "The Paradip concession will strengthen APSEZ's presence on the East Coast and expand our access to one of India's most important industrial and mineral-rich hinterlands," Gupta stated. He added that with Paradip, APSEZ's network now spans 16 ports and terminals across India's vast 11,000-km coastline, reinforcing its capability to deliver integrated port, logistics, and marine solutions.
Boosting Cargo Throughput
The addition of these two berths is expected to contribute an extra 18 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of new capacity. This expansion will elevate APSEZ's total domestic portfolio to 671 MMT, bringing the Gautam Adani-led company closer to its ambitious target of achieving 1 billion tonnes of cargo throughput by 2030.
Broader Adani Group Investments
In related news, other Adani Group stocks also saw investor interest following an announcement from Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd. AAHL entered into binding agreements to raise Rs 9,825 crore, approximately $1 billion, in primary equity capital. This funding round saw participation from a consortium of domestic and global investors, including Alpha Wave Global, Premji Invest, Temasek, and funds managed by BlackRock.
The transaction values AAHL at a pre-money equity valuation of approximately $18 billion, marking it as one of the largest primary equity investments from financial institutions within India's airport infrastructure sector.