JSW Infrastructure on Wednesday said it has completed the acquisition of Chettinad Group’s port business. The acquisition allows JSW Infrastructure the ownership and operational control of a deep draft international coal terminal and a bulk terminal at Kamarajar Port as well as coal and bulk commodity terminal at New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT).

JSW Infrastructure is investing more than Rs 1,000 crore to acquire as well as modernize these port assets which have a combined cargo handling capacity of 17 million tonnes per annum, a company release said. ”The successful acquisition of these port assets consolidates our strategic presence across southeast & west coasts. It allows us greater access to the hinterland trading hubs with promising growth potential,” said Arun Maheshwari, Joint MD & CEO of JSW Infrastructure.

These assets also fit in the company’s strategic direction to achieve 200 million tonnes per annum cargo handling capacity over the next couple of years, offering it an opportunity to service varied requirements of a wide customer base, he said. ”The newly-acquired terminals will have business synergies with our upcoming 30 MTPA coal export terminal at Paradip Port Trust which is scheduled to commence operations during the first half of calendar year 2021,” Maheshwari said.

Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) is a landlord port with mixed public-private orientation. Under this model, the port authority acts as a regulatory body and as a landlord, while port operations are carried out by private companies. On the other hand, NMPT is an all-weather, lagoon type port situated at Panambur, Mangalore in Karnataka. Cargo traffic across terminals at KPL stood at 31.75 MTPA in FY20, which is expected to increase substantially over the next few years while NMPT during the last fiscal handled over 39.1 million tonnes of cargo.

Moreover, container traffic at NMPT has been growing at a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent since 2013, as compared to overall Indian container traffic growth of 7.52 percent. ”The newly acquired terminals are strategic assets for JSW Infrastructure. Their addition enables us to service higher volume of third-party customer cargo. We intend to modernize these terminals to further enhance their operational efficiency.

”This acquisition will immensely benefit all our stakeholders through better efficiency, reduced cost and a world-class customer service experience,” said Devki Nandan, Senior Vice President and Head of M&A at JSW Infrastructure.

First Published:Nov 18, 2020 4:12 PM IST