Adani Hazira Port Pvt Ltd (AHPPL), a unit of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) that runs a private port at Hazira in Gujarat, has secured backing from a key government appraisal panel to expand its cargo handling capacity by 150 million tonnes (mt) to 234 mt with an investment of over Rs14,000 crores.
The capacity expansion involves building 19 multi-purpose berths at the port’s outer harbour to handle dry cargo, project cargo, container cargo, liquid cargo, and cryogenic gas up to -160°C.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) attached to the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, has recommended granting environment and coastal regulation zone clearances to the project, multiple sources said.
The recommendation of the EAC will have to be ratified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change according to procedure adopted for granting environment and CRZ clearances for infrastructure projects.
Adani Hazira Port currently has approvals to build 12 berths to handle 84 mt of cargo – of this, 6 berths have been developed.
The port operator will also seek separate approvals to convert the existing 6 berths and the yet to be developed 6 berths into multi-purpose facilities, according to documents seen by ET Infra.
The expansion plan does not envisage land acquisition.
The 19 new berths will be developed in the intertidal area by reclaiming land from the sea. For the proposed outer harbour development, the waterfront area will be dredged to the tune of 50 million cubic metres to achieve a depth of 21 metres. Of this, some 40 million cubic metres of dredged material will be utilized for reclamation of project area and the remaining 10 million cubic metres of dredged spoil will be disposed of in a dumping area in the ocean.
Rail sidings and road networks will be used for cargo evacuation.
Adani Hazira Port plans to link the port with a railway line to be built in collaboration with GRIDE, a joint venture of the government of Gujarat and Indian Railways.
Development of road and rail connectivity and augmentation of cargo handling will further result in decongestion of traffic routes.
When the expansion work is completed, Hazira Port will have 31 multi-purpose berths.
Hazira is among the 12 ports/terminals run by APSEZ – India’s biggest private port operator – on the country’s east and west coasts with a capacity to handle a combined 538 mt of cargo a year.
In FY22, APSEZ handled 312 mt of cargo at a capacity utilisation of 58 percent.
