APSEZ cargo volumes jump 42% in Dec 2023 

Ahmedabad : Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) handled 35.65 MMT of cargo volumes, resulting in a strong 42% year-on-year (YoY) increase. Dry bulk cargo handling was up 63% while handling of containers increased by over 28% on a YoY basis. 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% YoY growth.

“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,” said Mr 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.

Other milestones recorded by Mundra Port during the period under consideration include the highest-ever parcel size of fertilizer vessel (100,282 MT), the largest count of over-dimensional container/s in a single vessel (219 TEUs), the largest shipment of soyabean 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, surpassing its previous record of 40 vessels.

These achievements were supported by ongoing improvements in Mundra Port’s infrastructure. It added two RMGC cranes, which are helping in expediting train turnaround times and enhancing the port’s ability to handle a greater count of rakes daily. Incidentally, the port has also started receiving double stack services from ICD Dadri through the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC).