New Delhi: Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), the terminal arm of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), will invest for 49 per cent stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) said in a statement. MSC and APSEZ have announced the agreement for the same in a deal valued at $2.85 billion.
"APSEZ, India's largest and one of the world's fastest growing integrated transport operators, and MSC Group, the world's largest transport and logistics conglomerate, have entered into a definitive agreement under which MSC Group, via its container terminal operating and investing arm, TiL, will invest for 49 per cent interest in AVPPL, the concessionaire for Vizhinjam port,” APSEZ said in a statement.
The Vizhinjam port has a capacity of 1.6 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEUs) and is undergoing expansion that will increase its capacity 3.5 times to 5.7 million TEUs.
The transaction is subject to customary approvals, including regulatory ones.
“TiL to invest $1.397 billion, equivalent to its proportionate 49 per cent share of $2.85 billion,” APSEZ said.
The strategic collaboration represents the single largest foreign private investment in Indian port infrastructure and cements Vizhinjam's emergence as a dominant transshipment gateway in the Indian Ocean region, APSEZ said.
APSEZ whole-time Director and CEO Ashwani Gupta said, “Vizhinjam port has emerged as a premier transshipment hub and ramped up at an unprecedented pace, becoming the first Indian port to earn the unique distinction of crossing 2 million TEUs within 18 months of operations.
“TiL is one of the world's largest container terminal operators and part of the MSC Group comprising a portfolio of more than 100 container terminals across five continents and a throughput of more than 70 million TEUs per annum.”
According to the statement, the strategic collaboration between APSEZ and MSC Group will deliver significant advantages for APSEZ, including enhanced volume visibility and accelerated ramp-up ahead of plan, driven by additional cargo volume and higher share of Bangladesh cargo, largely dependent on competing Southeast Asian transshipment hubs.
Commissioned in December 2024, the Vizhinjam port is India's first deep-draft mega transshipment port with 1.6 million TEU capacity.
The port is undergoing expansion that will increase its capacity 3.5 times to 5.7 million TEUs by December 2028.
