APM Terminals Pipavav expands capacity to ۱.۳۵ mn units

TIN news:   The $4.24 billion global terminal operator, APM Terminals, on Thursday, announced completion of its capacity expansion at Port Pipavav in Gujarat, increasing its container throughput handling capacity here from 850,000 TEUs to 1.35 million TEUs.
Five new berths are likely to be added to the 20-year-old port in the next three years. APM Terminals is a gateway port on the west coast of India for containers, bulk, liquid and Ro/Ro cargoes for the Indian hinterland and north-western markets.
Keld Pedersen, Managing director of India’s first private sector port set up in the PPP mode, said the expansion was carried out at an investment of Rs. 400 crore. It was necessitated by up to 85% utilization of existing capacity since last year. The investment included buying new STS cranes, strengthening the existing berth, dredging, and the improvement of the container yard and internal roads at the port. This investment will increase efficiency and productivity in the port operations, he said.
For the bulk cargo handling business segment, the company has a current capacity of 4-5 million MTs of dry bulk cargo, 2 million MTs of liquid bulk cargo and 250,000 passenger cars per annum. Additional marine side and land side areas are available at the port for future development.
Modal shift incentives currently under evaluation by the Government of India will further encourage shifting of domestic cargo from road to sea. Coastal shipping is an environment-friendly alternatives to land transportation, reducing diesel fuel consumption and emissions, as well as Indian roadway congestion. “The expansion project will help us to be future-ready.”
With a 43.01% stake, APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) is the largest shareholder in Port Pipavav, spread over 1,560 acres. The company has so far invested nearly Rs. 2,000 crore at the port.
As on March 31, 2016, the company’s turnover stood at Rs. 659.96 crore and net profit at Rs. 236.66 crore. Ninetyfive percent of port operation is about imports, including some high-end cars; five percent operation comprises exports, including that of Ford and Hyundai cars. The port has a capacity to store 3,500 cars and has been handling export of about 6,000 cars a month since last year, mainly to South America and South Africa.
A 269-km-long rail line links Pipavav with the first major railway line at Surendranagar in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.