Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) handled 35.65 metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo volumes in the quarter ended December 2023 in the current fiscal year, indicating a robust increase of 42 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. The dry bulk cargo handling for the firm increased 63 per cent, while handling of containers rose 28 per cent, both on a YoY basis in the reviewing period.
For the quarter under review, APSEZ handled nearly 109 MMT of overall cargo, with about 106 MMT coming from the domestic ports portfolio. In the first nine months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the firm managed about 311 MMT total cargo, marking a growth of 23 per cent on a YoY basis, the firm revealed in a statement.
Commenting on the performance, Karan Adani, CEO and whole time director, APSEZ, noted, “APSEZ crossed the 300 MMT cargo mark in just 266 days versus its previous best of 329 days in the previous financial year. This milestone only proves that our strategy of driving operational efficiencies to achieve industry leading growth is yielding the desired results. 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.”
The firm stated that during the April to December period in the current fiscal, many APSEZ ports logged new milestones. Mundra, the flagship port of the firm, handled about 5.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) in a record nine months and is anticipated to surpass 7 million TEUs of container cargo volumes during FY24. The port handled 3,000 ships in just 261 days, beating its earlier record of 288 days in the previous 2022-23 fiscal year.
The JV terminal at Mundra Port, AICTPL, made a national record by handling 3,00,431 TEUs in November 2023, surpassing its own record of 2,98,634 TEUs in March 2021. Further, in October 2023, the port handled 16 MMT of cargo volumes and set a new milestone of achieving the highest cargo volumes by any Indian port in a single month.
Among other milestones reached by Mundra Port during the reviewing period, include the highest-ever parcel size of fertiliser vessel (100,282 MT), the largest count of over-dimensional containers in a single vessel (219 TEUs), the largest shipment of soybean oil (61,841 MT), and the berthing of the largest-ever vessel that has called on any Indian port (around 399 meters long and 54 meters wide). In December 2023, the port also handled 43 vessel movements in 24 hours, beating its earlier record of 40 vessels.
The firm noted that its logistics volumes continued to log record growth with year-to-date (YTD) rail volumes at a peak high of nearly 4,37,000 TEUs, up by 22 per cent on a YoY basis, and bulk cargo volumes of 14.26 MMT, up by 47 per cent on a YoY basis.
Other ports, both on the east and west coastline, logged major milestones during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. These ports included the Krishnapatnam port, Gangavaram port, Dhamra port, Karaikal port, and Dahej port, among others.