APM Terminals Pipavav on Wednesday said its board has approved a Rs 700 crore expansion plan. The amount will be used for upgrading existing facilities for handling bigger ships and increasing the container capacity to 1.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), it added.

”APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd) has announced the approval of Rs 700 crore incoherence to the expansion plan of the company. The stated investment will be utilised for upgrading the port’s existing facility to handle bigger ships and eventually expand the container capacity to 1.6 million TEUs,” the company said in a statement.

The supply chain and inland logistics are expected to significantly improve the reliability and reduce transit time going forward with the implementation of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), it noted.

This will improve overall cargo volume for imports and exports, the company said, adding that about 40 percent of the total investments in the entire 1,535 km of DFC is likely to be in Gujarat. ”With this investment, we aim to strengthen our network and continue to provide best-in-class services to all our stakeholders. However, we are awaiting the confirmation of concession extension from Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to execute the expansion plan,” APM Terminals Pipavav Managing Director Jakob Friis Sorenson said.

The container yard capacity will be expanded once the cargo growth is visible post commissioning of DFC, he added. ”We expect the world economy and business to follow an expanded ’U’ curve and normalcy in business to be restored by the second quarter of 2021,” Sorenson said.

The port operations are imperative to ensure that the supply chain remains uninterrupted and the availability of essential supplies is maintained, the company said. Even during the lockdown period, APM Terminals Pipavav successfully operated without having a single positive case amongst people, a testimony of the care taken of their employees and the community around, it added.

APM Terminals Pipavav is one of India’s leading gateway port for Containers, Ro/Ro (passenger cars), Liquid Bulk, and Dry Bulk cargoes serving customers in Gujarat with road and rail networks to the hinterland and northwest.