THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
Adani Ports and Special Economic
Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has emerged as the highest bidder for the development and
operation of Paradip Port’s CQ-I and CQ-II dry bulk berths, marking a strategic
expansion of its presence on India’s eastern seaboard and adding 18 million
metric tonnes (MMT) of capacity to its growing port portfolio.
The company has received the
Letter of Award (LoA) for the project, which will be developed under the
Public-Private Partnership model with a 30-year concession. APSEZ plans to
equip the two berths with mechanised cargo-handling systems, deep-draft
facilities and large-scale storage infrastructure, positioning the terminal to
cater to rising volumes of coal, limestone and other dry bulk commodities.
The Paradip win will take APSEZ’s
total port and terminal capacity to 671 MMT per annum from the existing 653
MMT, taking the company another step closer to its target of handling 1 billion
tonnes of cargo by 2030.
The entry into Paradip, India’s
second-largest major port and a critical bulk cargo gateway on the eastern
coast, also strengthens APSEZ’s network across a mineral-rich industrial belt.
The company already has around 140 MMT of capacity across Haldia, Dhamra,
Gopalpur and Gangavaram ports, making the Paradip concession a natural
extension of its East Coast strategy.
“The Paradip concession will strengthen
APSEZ’s presence on the East Coast and expand our access to one of India’s most
important industrial and mineral-rich hinterlands. With Paradip, APSEZ’s
network grows to 16 ports and terminals across India’s 11,000-km coastline,
strengthening our ability to deliver integrated port, logistics and marine
solutions through the country’s most comprehensive transport infrastructure
platform,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ.
Strategically located amid major
steel-producing clusters and close to mineral-rich hinterlands, Paradip is
expected to play an increasingly important role in supporting industrial and
manufacturing activity across eastern and central India. The new terminal will
give APSEZ greater access to cargo originating from these regions while
broadening its ability to serve large industrial customers.
The project comes at a time when
port infrastructure on India’s East Coast is witnessing high utilisation amid
rising cargo demand. Expanding steel production, growing industrial activity
and the government’s push to increase domestic coal availability are expected
to support long-term dry bulk volumes, while the additional capacity could help
ease regional infrastructure bottlenecks.
For APSEZ, the Paradip concession
is more than a capacity addition. It deepens the company’s integrated transport
network across ports, logistics and marine services while improving its reach into
some of India’s fastest-growing industrial corridors. The move is expected to
strengthen its position as a key cargo-handling and logistics player on the
eastern coast as India’s commodity and manufacturing ecosystem expands.
