Adani Ports acquires Dighi Port

Ahmedabad: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on Tuesday informed that it has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent in Dighi Port Limited (DPL) for Rs 705 crore on February 15.

The company had intimated the commencement of this development to stock exchanges on March 6, 2020.

With the acquisition, DPL has become the 12th port to join APSEZ's string of economic gateways across the eastern and western coast of India and would establish the company's footprint in Maharashtra. This would enable APSEZ to service customers in the state, including the highly industrialised areas in the Mumbai and Pune regions, the company said in a statement. APSEZ plans to invest over Rs 10,000 crore to develop the port into a multi-cargo port with world-class infrastructure as well as investing in the development of rail and road evacuation infrastructure for seamless cargo movement. The company will also use the investment to strengthen and repair existing infrastructure and for development of facilities for dry, container, and liquid cargo.

Adani Ports said that DPL will evolve as an alternative gateway to the JNPT and will invite and support the development of port-based industries on portland. It is expected that the development of DPL will lead to further investments across various industries such as consumer appliances, metals, energy, petrochemicals, and chemicals business in Maharashtra and provide a fillip to the industrial development and growth in Maharashtra.

These investments will contribute to employment generation and socio-economic development of the port's hinterland, the company statement said. As per the terms and requirements of the Resolution Plan, the transfer of concession rights has also been approved by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and APSEZ has settled the dues of financial creditors, MMB, and other admitted costs and claims.