The Prince of Ports: How Karan Adani has helped Adani Ports & SEZ become India's large private port operator

In the ports business, nothing matters more than scale and size. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in many ways confirms that theory.

At a total capacity of 653 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) across 15 ports in India, APSEZ is the largest private port operator. That translates into a 28% market share of overall cargo and 46% of container volumes handled by Indian ports.

Add to that its global ambitions with four international ports scattered across the globe—Haifa in Israel, Colombo West International Terminal in Sri Lanka, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and North Queensland Export Terminal in Australia—and you get a sense of the scale the company commands.

A Crisil Ratings report from last November points out that APSEZ has consolidated its position at the top, with volumes “growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12% during fiscals 2017-25, driven by regular capex towards capacity expansion as well as acquisitions.”

The Adani Group, according to APSEZ’s Managing Director, Karan Adani, has an annual capex plan of Rs 2 lakh crore for the next five years. At the India Today Conclave 2026, he outlined how ports capacity will double from the current 600 mtpa to 1,200 mtpa by 2030. Money will also go into increasing capacity in the renewables, thermal and airports businesses. “We aspire to be the cheapest ports-to-power conglomerate and logistics provider,” he declared.

The company has been aided by the government’s continuing thrust on infrastructure. Adani views that as the key foundation. “If you don’t get that right, none of your manufacturing can happen,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are creating hard cash-generating assets and not valuation assets. We know our business and that gives us the confidence to keep going,” added Adani.

All of this has been done in a disciplined manner. An ICICI Direct report put out after APSEZ’s results for the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 says, “It has been maintaining financial discipline during its investment phase, with an approximate capex of Rs 65,000-70,000 crore over FY25-29.”

In many ways, infrastructure is about getting the little things right, with scale coming into play. “Operations are managed efficiently, as reflected in a turnaround time of 0.7 days, compared with approximately two days for state-owned major ports,” states Crisil’s report. It goes on to say that APSEZ benefits from its integrated logistics network. “Providing end-to-end logistics solutions to customers from the port to hinterland has led to stickiness, with 56% of cargo sticky in nature,” it adds.

A key part of the strategy is the handling of the cargo mix. In FY25, according to the Crisil report, cargo was well-diversified—33% coal, 42% containers, 6% crude and gas, and the rest with other cargo. “The share of the Mundra port in the total cargo has reduced consistently from 66% in FY19 to 45% in FY25 on account of acquisition of ports on the east coast of India,” it states. Consequently, the east coast’s share of the total cargo is 40%. “Logistics and related businesses contributed around 17% to revenue in fiscal 2025, which will increase going forward.”

Another attribute of the group is its superior execution skills, which is vital for large-scale port projects. In that domain, APSEZ has been helped immensely by its deep experience in bringing projects to fruition.

“Their ability to execute projects in time is an indication of high levels of discipline. Plus, they do not commit till all financial closures are in place,” says Vinit Bolinjkar, Head (Research) at brokerage Ventura Securities.

That ability to execute fast is priceless since the group infrastructure play extends beyond ports to power, gas, roads and airports. According to Bolinjkar, the conglomerate also benefits from “serious visibility over each of these over the next 30-40 years.”

That also stems from its ability to negotiate smartly with borrowers. “They structure the arrangements well. That is obvious in how cash flows are managed efficiently despite very aggressive capex outlays.”

Adani makes it clear that the conglomerate’s objective has been very clear: “To help India in terms of reducing logistics and power costs.”

Bolinjkar, who has tracked the group for a long time, says the genesis of the group’s current prowess lies in how it built up the ports business in a calibrated manner. “Once they started off in the Kutch region, rail lines and all necessary infrastructure was put in place. That allowed for cost efficiencies to get locked into the business model.” Once they got it right there, they began replicating the model across other ports. “That focus on execution at each level has helped them in achieving scale across infrastructure projects, be it power or anything else,” Bolinjkar says.

The foreign foray is equally important from a long-term perspective. Bolinjkar says Haifa gives APSEZ a gateway to Europe and Africa. “It is at the trisection of three continents. With the acquisition of assets in south India, it opens up more opportunity. In time to come, APSEZ can seriously compete with both Dubai and Singapore.”

However, the group is facing some testing times now with the war in West Asia, which has impacted trade. “In the last four to five years, there has been constant disruption in the global supply chain. It started with Covid followed by the Suez Canal getting blocked and then the Russian-Ukraine war,” said Adani. He said, starting 2020 the world has entered a new phase where most countries have moved from globalisation of supply chains to regionalisation. “These disruptions do pinch a lot.”

Global trade, according to him, has four chokepoints—the Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Strait of Malacca and Strait of Hormuz. “The whole supply chain gets affected if someone decides to close these. As a country, we have to find a way to derisk ourselves from these events,” he says.

On that note, he emphasises if the Strait of Malacca is affected, Nicobar will play a role, from an Indian perspective, to make the supply chain reliant. “Any infrastructure made in India is going to be used. Once it is in place, trade will find its way.” On the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, he admits it comes with challenges but “is definitely worth pursuing.”

Seen from APSEZ’s perch, there are many reasons for it to be confident that it could handle every piece of cargo coming into India in the future. For Karan Adani, the ambition isn’t limited to make his company better, it is to help make the nation stronger. “It is extremely critical that we, as a country, make our supply chain even more resilient. We would love to play a part in that.”  

@krishnagopalan