APSEZ unveils ₹53,031-cr Kattupalli Port expansion

Country’s biggest private port operator, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), has chalked out expansion plans worth ₹53,031 crore to ramp up capacity of Kattupalli port in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district. In fact, the port, which currently commands a capacity to handle 24.65 mt of cargo, has decided to take the capacity to 320 million tons (mt) per annum. Kattupalli currently has approval for constructing five berths with total quay length of 1,900 metres of which two berths are operational while the third is under construction. As a matter of fact, APSEZ plans to build 9,567 metres of additional quay length besides another 1,250 metres of quay for barge berths and 12 port craft facilities in phases and has already filed a revised master plan with the ministry of environment to begin the approval process. The expansion will help APSEZ transform into a multi-commodity port for handling cargo such as liquid, bulk, break-bulk, project cargo, dry cargo, general cargo, containers, ro-ro, automobile and other non-hazardous items like liquid, gas and cryogenic cargo. Depending on the business requirements, LNG will also be handled through FSRU and LPG will be handed through FSO. That apart, APSEZ also plan to develop port back-up industries and industrial development area and the allied infrastructure, based on business requirement.