Adani Ports bags Rs 250-bn greenfield project in Bengal

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd, a part of the Adani Group controlled by world’s second-richest man Gautam Adani, has been selected to develop the Tajpur deep sea port in West Bengal, according to a statement from the state government. The greenfield project will entail a total investment of Rs 250 billion ($3.1 billion), of which Rs 150 billion will go toward port development and the rest toward building related infrastructure. The latest project adds muscle to India’s largest private sector port operator, which already has a 30% domestic market share and has been securing global contracts, including the Haifa Port project in Israel and a port terminal in Sri Lanka. The Adani conglomerate has been scaling up existing businesses and rapidly entering new ones like cement, airports, the media and data centres. The state government, according to the statement, expects to create 25,000 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect jobs through this port, which is about 105 miles from the state capital of Kolkata. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Ports signed a pact last week for the modernisation of a berth at the Haldia port in West Bengal. See also: West Bengal approves Tajpur greenfield portAdani Ports forays into Bengal with Haldia project