APSEZ Expands Odisha Operations With 18 MMT Paradip Port Berth Deal

09 Sep 2026, 11:32 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) is set to establish its presence at Paradip Port with a project to mechanise and operate two dry bulk berths, adding 18 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo-handling capacity to its Indian portfolio.

The company has received the Letter of Award (LoA) after emerging as the highest bidder for the CQ-I and CQ-II berths at Paradip Port in Odisha. The project will be developed under a 30-year concession through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The new capacity will increase APSEZ’s domestic port portfolio from 653 MMT to 671 MMT. The expansion also forms part of the company’s broader objective of reaching 1 billion tonnes of cargo throughput by 2030.

Project details

The two berths have a combined length of 485 metres and a dredged draft of 15 metres. The project involves installing mechanised cargo-handling facilities and developing large-scale storage infrastructure to handle dry bulk commodities.

The berths are being developed as a common-user facility for dry bulk cargo. The planned storage area covers 4 lakh square metres, while the project was earlier expected to take 36 months to complete.

The award gives APSEZ direct operations at Paradip, India’s second-largest major port and a significant bulk cargo gateway on the eastern coast.

Paradip sits within a mineral-rich hinterland that includes major industrial and steel-producing clusters. The new facility is expected to strengthen APSEZ’s ability to handle growing volumes of coal, limestone and other dry bulk commodities serving industries across eastern and central India.

The move also extends a network that already has a substantial presence along the eastern seaboard. APSEZ currently has around 140 MMT of capacity across Haldia, Dhamra, Gopalpur and Gangavaram.

With Paradip added, the company’s network will comprise 16 ports and terminals across India’s 11,000-km coastline. APSEZ said the expanded footprint will improve its access to the industrial and mineral-rich hinterland while supporting its integrated port, logistics and marine operations.

Why the Paradip project matters

The additional berth capacity comes at a time when ports on India’s eastern coast are seeing high utilisation amid rising cargo requirements. Expansion in steel production in the hinterland, along with the government’s push for greater use of domestic coal, is expected to support demand for dry bulk handling facilities.

For APSEZ, the Paradip project therefore adds capacity in a market where cargo volumes are closely linked to the movement of minerals, coal and industrial raw materials.

Paradip itself has been handling large cargo volumes. The Odisha government’s economic review said the port handled 145.4 MMT in 2023-24, placing it first among Indian ports by cargo volume that year. Paradip Port Authority later reported 156.45 MMT of cargo handled in FY26.

APSEZ’s East Coast expansion

Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO of APSEZ, said the Paradip concession would deepen the company’s presence on the East Coast and give it greater access to one of India’s key industrial and mineral-rich hinterlands.

He said the addition would take APSEZ’s network to 16 ports and terminals along India’s 11,000-km coastline and strengthen its ability to provide integrated port, logistics and marine services.

The Paradip project also adds to APSEZ’s existing eastern network, including Dhamra Port. The company describes Dhamra as a deep-draft, multi-cargo facility serving the mineral-rich regions of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

At the company level, APSEZ currently has a cargo-handling capacity of 653 MMT per annum and says it commands about 27% of India’s total port volumes. Its stated target is to reach 1 billion tonnes of cargo throughput by 2030.

The Paradip award adds another 18 MMT to that domestic capacity while giving India’s largest private port operator a new operating base at one of the country’s most important bulk cargo gateways.