Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (“APSEZ”), India’s largest port developer, operator and the logistics arm of the Adani Group had announced in January 2020 that is acquiring Krishnapatnam port from CVR Group
The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has permitted the Krishnapatnam port deal, clearing the decks for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) to close the transaction for buying a controlling stake of 75% in Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd (KPCL) for ₹13,572 crore.
Competition Commission of India has approved the deal. This acquisition will help APSEZ, India’s largest private port to get access to the country’s biggest waterfront location (for a port) of 12.5 kms and a transit storage area of 6,790 acres, of which 4,621 acres is in ownership of the port operating company.
Krishnapatnam Port owned by the Andhra Pradesh government was given to CVR Group for development and operations on a 30- years contract starting March 2009.
Krishnapatnam Port is a privately owned all weather, deep water port in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located approximately 190 km north of the Chennai Port and 18 km east of Nellore. After Mundra, Krishnapatnam port is the second-biggest private port in India and in the year 2019 it has handled 54 MMT of cargo.
The port is presently owned and operated through the KPCL. KPCL is 90.6 % owned through the CVR Group, which has interests in construction, ports, power, steel and exports.
Krishnapatnam port has a draft of 18.5 metres, a depth to accommodate fully-loaded capesize vessels of 200,000-tonne capacity. It presently has a ability to handle 64 million tonnes (mt) of shipment from thirteen berths. The development plans of the port can scale up the cargo handling capacity to 250MT per year.
APSEZ’s 9 strategically placed ports and terminals – Mundra, Dahej, Kandla and Hazira in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha, Mormugao in Goa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu – have the potential to handle 395 mt of shipment, accounting for country’s 24% total port capacity.