Kolkata: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) announced on Friday that it has secured a five-year Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract for the container facility at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata. According to a company statement, APSEZ is required to deploy cargo handling equipment within seven months from the date of the letter of acceptance (LOA).

"APSEZ won the five-year O&M contract through a competitive bidding process, which mandates the successful bidder to deploy cargo handling equipment within seven months from the letter of acceptance (LOA) date," the statement said. "The presence of APSEZ at the dock is expected to improve connectivity between the terminal and its container ports, particularly with the transhipment hubs at Vizhinjam and Colombo that are targeted for commissioning during the year,” it added.

APSEZ whole-time director and CEO Ashwani Gupta highlighted the significance of the contract, stating, “The award of the O&M contract for container handling facilities at Netaji Subhas Dock to APSEZ underlines our commitment to developing ports and logistics infrastructure across the country and the potential we see in West Bengal.

“We will bring our experience of over two decades of efficiently managing various container terminals within India and outside, benefiting customers and the people of the state.”

Netaji Subhas Dock, the largest container terminal on the eastern coast of India, handled around 0.63 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) in FY2023-24, serving a vast hinterland that includes West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, the northeastern hill states, and the landlocked neighboring countries of Nepal and Bhutan.

The Kolkata port is the designated port for the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade route. Netaji Subhas Dock has regular liner service calls from major hub ports such as Singapore, Port Kelang, and Colombo.

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