Adani Ports ‘evaluating’ international buys; ₹80,000 cr capex plans under-way

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) — India’s largest private port operator — is evaluating international acquisitions. The company has initiated discussions to secure partnerships in key trade routes covering South East Asia, West Asia and Africa. There are also elaborate plans to ramp up operations in India with an ₹80,000 crore capex push over the next three years, officials said.

The capex will be funded primarily through internal accruals and “some debt”. International expansion will be pursued through partnerships, “with strong local partners”, they added.

“We are open to international expansion — mostly through partnerships. Some are being explored; but there is caution following the ongoing geo-political scenario. Our focus continues to grow domestically along the east and west coast,” an APSEZ official said. Currency fluctuations is seen as another consideration for international M&As.

APSEZ is yet to respond to queries by businessline.

Consultancy firm Macquarie Equity Research in a recent report said, APSEZ will “evaluate international port expansion opportunities.”

Current international operations for the company include Haifa, Israel, Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania, and the about to be commissioned berths at Colombo, Sri Lanka.

India Capex Plans

The ₹80,000 crore capex over FY25 to FY28 for organic and domestic business growth is almost double the investments made between FY15 and FY24, when capex was at ₹42,000 crore, as per an investor deck shared by the company.

The current capex under consideration includes investment in domestic ports, new ones plus expansion of existing ones, of ₹50,000 crore; another ₹25,000-odd crore for the logistics business; remaining ₹5,000 crore will be maintenance.

The annual EBITDA run rate of the company is around ₹18,000 crore, and as per Group officials, it would suffice as the primary funding option (internal accruals). Around ₹20,000 crore could be looked at as debt option. “The APSEZ has a AAA+ credit rating, so raising funds won’t be an issue, if required,” the official said.

The company’s domestic installed capacity is around 633 million tonnes (mt) and by 2030, it targets 1,000 mt cargo with 800—850 mt of cargo volumes.

“The container transshipment at Vizhinjam Port in Kerala and … the Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports will be key part of our India ramp-up,” the official said.

Brownfield expansions of individual ports — for containers, bulk, or liquid cargo — include 250 mt at Mundra, 204 mt approved incremental capacity at Hazara, around 264 mt at Dhamra and 194 mt capacity addition at Krishnapatnam, as per the investor deck.

Installed capacities include 264 mt at Mudra, 30 mt at Hazira, 75 mt at Krishnapatnam, 50 mt at Dhamra, 64 mt at Gangavaram and 25 mt at Kattupalli.

The company top brass, in their post results analyst call, had said that the plan going forward would be to pitch the company as an end-to-end logistics solutions player, with port ops and logistics solutions, including transport services going hand-in-hand.

Macquaire, said, it expects cash-flow generation for APSEZ to remain strong given a “greater than 50 per cent sticky cargo in-port cargo mix and continuing diversification efforts.”

The Net debt (trailing 12 month basis) to EBITDA stands at 2.1x as of 3Q FY25, the research firm added.