Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone is set to secure rights to mechanise and operate two dry bulk cargo handling berths at state-owned Paradip Port in Odisha for 30 years after emerging as the highest bidder. The company quoted a royalty of Rs 122.30 per t for CQ 1 and CQ 2, and the 18 million tonne (mn t) capacity project is estimated to cost Rs 9,819.6 mn. The concession covers mechanisation and long-term operation as a common-user public-private partnership facility.

The company outbid Essar Ports at Rs 119.50 per t, Jindal Steel at Rs 117 per t and a consortium at Rs 115.10 per t. The berths have a combined length of 485 metres, a water depth of 15 metres and a storage area of 0.4 mn square metres. Mechanisation is intended to improve handling efficiency under the PPP model.

The win marks APSEZ's entry into Paradip Port, India’s second-largest state-owned port by cargo volumes, after Paradip Port Authority handled 156.45 million tonnes in FY26, or 156.45 mn t. APSEZ currently operates 15 multi-commodity ports in India with a combined capacity of 653 MT, or 653 mn t, including 355 MT on the west coast and 298 MT on the east coast. Its network handled 500 MT, or 500 mn t, of cargo in FY26 and the company also operates four international ports.

The Paradip project will strengthen APSEZ’s presence on the eastern coast alongside terminals at Haldia, Dhamra, Gopalpur, Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam, Kattupalli, Ennore and Karaikal. The company plans to expand the capacity of its domestic ports network to one billion tonnes (bn t) by 2030, supported by an investment of Rs 630 bn, and has set a target of handling 850 MT, or 850 mn t. The mechanisation and operation of CQ 1 and CQ 2 form part of the Union government’s National Monetisation Pipeline, while Paradip Port Authority operates 17 cargo berths, three single-point moorings and one roll-on/roll-off jetty and maintains an approach channel depth of 17.1 metres.