As India’s largest private port operator expands its door-to-door capabilities on the way to becoming a transport utility, Adani Logistics Ltd, a fully owned division of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), has successfully acquired the inland container depot (ICD) at Tumb in Vapi from Navkar Corporation Ltd. for an enterprise value of INR 835 crore.
The agreement calls for the acquisition of an operational ICD with a 0.5 million TEU handling capacity. As further industrial corridors and logistics parks are built along these DFC courses, the related 129 acres of land will provide an additional extension route to boost capacity and freight in the future.
The Tumb ICD also offers facilities for custom-notified land and bonded warehouses, as well as a private freight terminal with four tracks that handles lines connected to Western DFC.
One of the biggest ICDs in the nation is Tumb. According to Karan Adani, CEO and Whole-Time Director of APSEZ, the company’s strategic location in the middle of one of the busiest industrial zones and access to the designated freight corridor enable it to effectively serve the vast hinterland with access to two of the busiest ports on both sides, Hazira and Nhava Sheva.
“A major benefit of having access to the DFC is the anticipated reduction in typical transit times, which are anticipated to be 10 hours by rail versus 24 hours by road, in addition to cargo going by rail being 5X greener than that moving by road. This acquisition advances us toward our goal of offering our clients affordable door-to-door services and fits well with our transformation strategy toward becoming a transport utility. We are optimistic that the ICD will experience high double-digit volume growth as we develop a world-class, multi-modal supply chain solution for the country, he continued.
The transaction is valued at Rs 835 crore based on the land value and the replacement cost of the existing assets, indicating an EV/EBITDA difference of 7.8x (based on FY23(E) EBITDA). The purchase is anticipated to be completed in Q2 of FY23, subject to usual regulatory and lender approvals.
