Adani Group to expand Sanghi Industries' Sanghipuram captive port capacity to handle large ships

The Adani Group is planning to expand the captive port capacity of Sanghipuram to handle vessel sizes of 8,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage), said Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) CEO Karan Adani on Thursday.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone is currently trading at a price of Rs 770.3, with a 1.16 per cent change on Thursday. Over the past month, the stock has delivered a return of 4.03 per cent.

On Thursday morning, Adani Group said that Ambuja Cements will acquire Gujarat-based cement maker Sanghi Industries (SIL).

The Adani Group-owned cement maker will acquire 56.74 per cent shares of SIL from its promoters Ravi Sanghi and family at a price of Rs 114.22 per share, valuing the company at an enterprise value of Rs 5,000 crore.

Sanghi Industries is one of the leading cement manufacturers in western India. Sanghi Cement has a manufacturing unit at Sanghipuram in Gujarat's Kutch district, which is also connected with a captive jetty at Sanghipuram. It has a 6.6-MTPA (Million Tonnes per annum) capacity clinker plant and a 6.1-MTPA capacity cement Plant.

"We will invest in deepening and expanding the captive port capacity in order to accommodate larger vessel sizes of 8000 DWT," said Karan Adani after the acquisition of Sanghi Industries was announced.

Bulk terminals and grinding units will be created along the western coast to enable the movement of clinker and cement through the sea route at the lowest possible cost.

"Our vision is to produce lowest cost clinker in the country at Sanhipuram and then transport this clinker as well as bulk cement through coastal roads to the markets of Saurashtra South Gujarat, Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Karnataka and Kerala," Karan Adani further said.

He added: "Synergies with the assets of Adani ports will help us in implementation of this strategy."

Adani Ports on Thursday said that it recorded bumper cargo volumes of 34 MMT in July this year -- a 7 per cent jump year-on-year (YoY).

According to a regulatory statement by the company, growth was observed across most ports, with containers over 23 per cent and liquid & gas more than 27 per cent in the previous month, respectively.

During the initial four months of FY 2024 (April-July), APSEZ handled 135.4 MMT of total cargo--recorded 11 per cent YoY growth, the company said.

India's largest private port operator reported a jump in logistics volume too in July with YTD rail volumes of 178,689 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs)-- over 20 per cent rise YoY. The company witnessed 39% YoY rise in GPWIS volumes at 5.77 MMT in July.

Adani Ports handles six strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast at Mundra, Dahej, Tuna, and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa, and Dighi in Maharashtra.

It also operates five ports and terminals on the East coast of India, which are Dhamra in Odisha, Gangavaram, and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh; and Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamilnadu, representing 24 per cent of India's total port volumes.

Mundra is the largest container handling port in India, having handled more than 6.6 million TEUs in FY23, making it an integral gateway to the north and central parts of the country.

Mundra port in Gujarat, which is owned by Adani Group, handled over 5,300 TEUs last month.

"The average number of TEUs handled by rail at the Mundra port has crossed 5,300 in July, surpassing the pre-Cyclone Biparjoy levels of around 4,900," it said.

The cyclone disrupted operations and caused unavoidable operational downtime for around six days.

The company will declare its financial results for three months ended June 30, 2023 on August 8.

(With PTI inputs)