Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on Tuesday claimed it handled 35.65 MMT of cargo volumes in December, 2023, resulting in a strong 42 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase. Dry bulk cargo handling was also up 63 per cent while handling of containers increased by over 28 per cent on a YoY basis, the company said in a release here. For the quarter ended December, APSEZ handled around 109 MMT of overall cargo, with around 106 MMT contributed by our domestic ports portfolio. In the initial nine months of FY 24, APSEZ managed around 311 MMT of total cargo, which is a healthy 23 per cent YoY growth. “APSEZ crossed the 300 MMT cargo mark in just 266 days against its previous best of 329 days in the previous financial year. We are now targeting over 400 MMT of cargo volumes in FY24, surpassing the upper end of the guidance range (370-390 MMT) provided at the start of the current financial year,” said Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director, APSEZ.
During the Apr-Dec’23 period, many APSEZ ports recorded new milestones. Mundra, the flagship port, handled around 5.5 million TEUs in a record nine months and is on track to surpass 7 million TEUs of container cargo volumes during FY24. It handled 3,000 ships in just 261 days, surpassing its previous record of 288 days in FY23. The JV terminal at Mundra Port, AICTPL, created a national record by handling 3,00,431 TEUs (around 10,000 TEUs every day) in November 2023, breaking its own record of 2,98,634 TEUs in March 2021. In October 2023, the port handled 16 MMT of cargo volumes and established a new milestone of achieving the highest cargo volumes by any Indian port in a single month, the release said.
In December 2023, the port also handled 43 vessel movements in 24 hours, surpassing its previous record of 40 vessels. Incidentally, the port has also started receiving double stack services from ICD Dadri through the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC). Other ports, both on the east and west coastline, recorded key milestones during 9M FY24. The second largest port in the APSEZ portfolio, Krishnapatnam, berthed its largest-ever vessel, having dimensions of LOA 335.94 meters and beam 42.94 meters. A similar feat was recorded by the Gangavaram Port, which berthed its deepest draft vessel of 18.12 meters in December. The Dhamra Port handled the highest quantity of dry cargo (1,85,856 MT), surpassing the previous record of 1,73,524 MT while the Karaikal Port successfully handled the highest-ever monthly volume of soda ash (30,350 MT) in December and the Ennore terminal achieved an outstanding monthly throughput, crossing an impressive 65,000 TEUs in November ’23 surpassing its earlier peak volume of 59,985 TEUs. The Kattupalli Port berthed MV Seaspan Beacon with 10,000 TEUs, surpassing its previous record of handling 8,600 TEUs in a ship. The Dahej Port also handled its highest-ever fertilizer cargo vessel (1,37,041 MT), the release added.