Adani Ports forms joint venture with France’s CMA CGM group to operate box terminal

Adani Group's port arm Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has inked a strategic collaboration with CMA Terminals (CMAT), part of the France-based CMA CGM group, to jointly operate a container terminal at its Mundra port in Kutch.

The joint venture agreement was signed in July 2014 between APSEZ and CMAT, while the two conglomerates operationalised the new container terminal named Adani CMA Mundra Terminal Pvt Ltd (ACMTPL) on Tuesday, three months ahead of schedule.

The joint venture will operate the Terminal 4 at Mundra for a period of 15 years, which is extendible to another 10 years.

The new container terminal will have annual handling capacity of 1.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent), taking the overall capacity at Mundra port to 5.5 million TEUs annually, making it the largest container port in the country, a joint statement said here.

Karan Adani, CEO, APSEZ, said, “This strategic partnership with CMA CGM in the container terminals business brings significant value to Mundra port. By virtue of their position of the world’s third largest container shipping line, CMA CGM is a valuable customer for Mundra port; and with this strategic partnership, they will become a valuable partner.”

ACMTPL has four units of 65 tonnes capacity of Rail Mounted Quay Cranes capable of handling 18,000 TEU vessels and Super Post and Ultra Large Container Vessels and an annual capacity of 1.3 million TEUs.

Rodolphe Saadé, CEO, CMA CGM Group, which has been operating in India for over three decades with 4,000-strong workforce, said, “This joint venture with Adani Ports reinforces our position in one of the world’s fastest growing economies and highlights our firm belief in the potential growth of trade between India and the rest of the world.”

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