Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and a part of the $12-billion Adani Group, on Saturday inaugurated the Phase II expansion of Dhamra Port in Odisha.

The inauguration ceremony took place in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, among others, a company official said here.

The Phase II expansion will not only make Dhamra the country’s largest port but also serve as India’s major gateway for trade with the South East Asian nations, Adani said, while addressing the gathering.

Karan Adani, CEO, APSEZ, said the Phase II expansion was completed way before schedule. It will help achieve the company’s Vision 2020 of handling 200 million tonnes (mt), well ahead of time. “We now aim to touch 500 mt by the year 2025.”

The Phase II expansion of Dhamra Port will increase the cargo handling capacity of the port to over 100 mtpa, up from 25 mtpa at present. The company deployed more than 3,000 manpower with around 88 per cent locals employed for the Phase II expansion.

The port is located at 215 km from Bhubaneswar and is situated between Haldia in West Bengal and Paradip in Odisha. It serves as a gateway to Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and the entire geopolitical region, including the ASEAN region.

The Adani Foundation has also set up an Adani-DAV Public School at Kumamara in Bhadrak district in Odisha, providing free education to over 340 students up to Class IX at present. It will also set up Adani Skill Development Centre (ASDC) at Dhamra to impart skills to the youth.

APSEZ operates ports in Mundra, Hazira, Tuna-Tekra (Kandla) and Dahej in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha, and Katupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu. It also operates specialised coal-handling facilities at Mormugao in Goa andVisakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Besides, it is also setting up a container transhipment hub at Vizinjham in Kerala.

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