Adani Ports to operate container terminal at Kolkata port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer-cum-operator, has received the letter of intent (LOI) for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the container facility at the Netaji Subhas Dock at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata.

"APSEZ won the five-year O&M contract through a competitive bidding process, which mandates the successful bidder to deploy cargo handling equipment within seven months from the letter of acceptance (LOA) date," says an official release from APSEZ.

Netaji Subhas Dock is the largest container terminal on the eastern coast of India, the release added. "It handled around 0.63 million TEUs in FY2023-24, serving the hinterland of West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, the northeastern hill states and the landlocked neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan."

The Kolkata port is the nominated port for the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade route, the release added. "Netaji Subhas Dock has regular liner service calls from the hub ports of Singapore, Port Kelang and Colombo. The presence of APSEZ at the dock is likely to improve connectivity between the terminal and its container ports, particularly with the transshipment hubs at Vizhinjam and Colombo that are targeted for commissioning during the year."

Ashwani Gupta, CEO, APSEZ says: “The award of the O&M contract for container handling facilities at Netaji Subhas Dock to APSEZ underlines our commitment to develop ports and logistics infrastructure across the country and the potential we see in West Bengal. We will bring our experience of over two decades of efficiently managing various container terminals within India and outside, benefiting customers and the people of the state.”