Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said it would be “selective” in bidding for cargo handling contracts at State-owned major ports after India’s top court lifted restrictions placed by some port authorities on the company’s participation in tenders.
“The Supreme Court issued an order on 5 September restoring APSEZ’s right to participate in bidding for contracts at major ports, thereby putting to rest the wrong decision of certain port authorities on disqualifying APSEZ from the bidding process at major ports,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer, APSEZ said during an investor’s call on 1 November.
Earlier this year, port authorities running major ports such those located at Kandla, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Jawaharlal Nehru port blocked APSEZ from participating in cargo handling auctions at their respective ports citing a tender condition that bar firms involved in contract termination at other ports from applying.
A coal handling terminal run by a unit of APSEZ at Visakhapatnam Port Authority was terminated in December 2020, a few years into its 30-year concession.
“An Applicant including any Consortium Member or Associate should, in the last three years, have neither failed to perform on any contract, as evidenced by imposition of a penalty by an arbitral or judicial authority or a judicial pronouncement or arbitration award against the Applicant, Consortium Member or Associate, as the case may be, nor been expelled from any project or contract by any public entity nor have had any contract terminated by any public entity for breach by such Applicant, Consortium Member or Associate,” according to clause 2.2.8 of the tender conditions.
“In major ports, we would look at (participating in bids) selectively based on the kind of footprint and strategically where we don’t have a presence. Those are the places we would look at to consolidate in terms of our market share. But it will be very selective in nature,” Karan Adani added.
APSEZ has filed initial bids on tenders floated by Deendayal Port Authority for building a mega container terminal and a multipurpose cargo berth at its satellite facility at Tuna Tekra.
Apart from the big private ports it operates, APSEZ currently runs cargo terminals at three major ports – a dry bulk cargo terminal at Tuna-Tekra in Deendayal Port Authority (formerly Kandla Port), a coal terminal at Mormugao port and a container terminal at Kamarajar Port Ltd.
APSEZ has recently signed a concession agreement to mechanise one of the berths at Haldia Dock Complex in Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (formerly Kolkata Port).
That aside, APSEZ has set up or acquired big private ports close to some of the major ports such as Mundra port near Deendayal port, Dhamra near Paradip port, Gangavaram near Visakhapatnam port, Dighi near Jawaharlal Nehru port and Kattupalli near Chennai and Kamarajar ports.
The company controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani has recently won a deal to construct a new private port at Tajpur in West Bengal, a State where Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (formerly Kolkata Port) is the only maritime gateway.
APSEZ’s 12 facilities spread across the Western and Eastern seaboards have a capacity to handle 538 mt of cargo. By 2025, APSEZ aims to handle 500 mt of cargo.
