Adani to buy Krishnapatnam

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is to buy a controlling shareholding in Krishnapatnam Port Co Ltd (KPCL).

KPCL, which is located in Andhra Pradesh on India’s east coast, is the second-largest private sector port in India. It handled an estimated 54Mt of cargo, including over 500,000TEU, in 2019 and APSEZ intends increasing this to at least 100Mt of cargo in seven years.

Ahmedabad-headquartered Adani Ports also wants to double KPCL’s EBITDA in about four years, according to Karan Adani, CEO of APSEZ.

Imported fertilisers are important at Krishnapatnam.

The planned deal will result in APSEZ buying 75% of KPCL for an enterprise value of INR135.7B (US$1.9B) and it will raise the company’s share of the Indian maritime cargo market from 22% to 27%. It is a sizeable transaction that Karan described as “accelerating the company’s target of handling 400 Mt of cargo a year by 2025”. APSEZ will fund the deal through existing cash balances and internal accruals and it hopes the deal will be completed in the spring, subject to regulatory approvals being obtained.

APSEZ is India’s largest port development and operating company with a sizeable and growing presence in the logistics sector. In 2019, the group had an operating presence in 10 ports in India and handled 200 Mt of cargo.

Source: WorldCargo News

Dunkirk up 3% to 53 Mt

The Port of Dunkirk logged a new container handling record in 2019 with traffic increasing 7% to 450,000 TEU

Overall tonnage increased 3% to 53 Mt, with dry bulks down 9% to 23.5 Mt, mainly due to lower iron ore and coking coal imports for the steel industry – respectively down to 13.5 Mt (- 10%) and 5.3 Mt (- 19%), and also lower demand for thermal coal. Grain traffic increased 43% to 2 Mt and other dry bulks were off 9% to 2.9 Mt. Liquid bulk came to 9.4 Mt (+ 71%).

The port logged a new container handling record in 2019 with traffic increasing 7% to 450,000 TEU. Container traffic has grown by an aggregate of 54% since 2013, according to the port authority (GPM de Dunkerque).

GPM noted, however, that the number of accompanied and unaccompanied trailers moving over the ferry terminal was down 2% to 583,000 units, while tourist car numbers were down 16% to 579,000 and the passenger count on the ferries was down 11.1% to 2.341M. Cross-Channel traffic, at 15 Mt, accounts for around 75% of all general cargo (20.1 Mt), so Brexit issues remain a major concern.

The 2020 budget includes €3.2M for a new building to accommodate French and British border forces.

The container terminal extension offers cold ironing - a first for containerships in French ports

Source: WorldCargo News

Tender issued for Kapalama Phase 2

Call for bids for dredging and the quay work for the new container terminal in Honolulu.

The new yard area is for the Kapalama container terminal is now partially completed.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbours Division has announced it is moving forward with Phase 2 of the Kapalama Container Terminal (KCT) project at Honolulu Harbour.

Work began on a new terminal for Honolulu in 2018, after the HDOT announced a reshuffle that will see TOTE and Pasha operate at the new KCT, while Matson will expand into Pasha’s existing site.

Phase I of the KCT project includes the landside construction and adds 65.5 acres of container yard space, entry and exit gates, security fencing, parking, on-site utilities, lighting, and a weigh station. Work began in January 2018 and is on time and on budget, with an early scheduled completion date set for summer of 2020 at a cost of US$163 million.

The container yard features poured concrete surfaces. (Photos courtesy HDOT)

Phase 2 includes the waterside construction to add 1,800 linear feet of new berth at Piers 40-43, which is enough for two container ships to dock simultaneously and up to six gantry cranes, and an additional 18.5 acres of hardened operational area next to the berths. Dredging includes work at the berths and in the channel, plus widening the existing slips between Piers 40 and 43.

HDOT has now advertised for bids for Phase 2 with the anticipated bid opening scheduled for February 2020. The estimated cost is US$200-300M million and the work is anticipated to be complete in 2023.

“Positive improvements are underway at our commercial harbours that will enhance operations for the harbour users, which ultimately benefits the public as a whole,” said Deputy Director Derek Chow, Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbours Division. “This project is especially exciting because it will help address our capacity issues and meet the growing economic demands for the long term, that when complete, overseas transfers of containers to the interisland carrier will reduce traffic around the harbour’s surrounding roads.”

Source: WorldCargo News