The Hindu Business Line : Mundra Port tumbles on SC stay, stages recovery

The stock price of Mundra Port and SEZ Ltd plummeted 18.5 per cent during intra-day following the Supreme Court stay on the company’s construction activity in Gujarat.

Reacting to the Supreme Court staying construction activity in the proposed Mundra Special Economic Zone in the Kutch District of Gujarat, Adani Group spokesperson on Wednesday said the company would request the Apex Court to vacate the ex-parte stay. In a statement, the Adani Group said here that it was awaiting the relevant papers from the Supreme Court. “We have complied with various procedures and formalities for setting up the SEZ at Mundra and will submit the details to the Apex Court shortly with a request to vacate the ex-parte stay. The port at Mundra is operating normally.

However, general recovery in the markets helped the stock end positive at Rs 481.6, up from Tuesday’s close of Rs 476.6.

frastructural facilities

The company had raised Rs 1,770 crore through its IPO in November last year, which was subscribed by more than 115 times. The share price touched its all-time high of Rs 1,324 on January 2, 2008. The stock made its debut on the BSE and the NSE on November 27, 2007, at a premium of 75 per cent against the issue price of Rs 440. The multi-product SEZ, when complete, would be spread over a planned area of nearly 32,000 hectares with the Adanis providing infrastructural facilities to the industries setting up units in the SEZ. A number of industrial houses, including two hospitals, have already signed up for the purpose, company sources told Business Line here.

Recreational facilities

Land acquisition for the SEZ is currently under progress with nearly 10,000 hectares acquired so far. It is proposed to provide integrated infrastructure for business environment including manufacturing, living, learning and recreational facilities. The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Mr Justice Altamas Kabir and Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi, had, in interim order on Tuesday, stayed the construction activity and maintain status quo in the SEZ being developed by the Adani Group, which is also the promoter of India’s largest privately-operated multi-commodity port.

The Apex Court’s stay came in the wake of fishermen from the area filing a public interest litigation (PIL) on grounds of environmental concerns. The main petitioner, Mr Imran Salim Jat, maintained that the construction activity would be dangerous for the ecologically fragile area, and rob the fishermen of their livelihood. The petition stated that the mangrove in the region has been damaged by the promoters for setting up the industrial zone in the SEZ.