IPCL in discussion with Dighi Port to handle ethylene shipments

28-May-14

Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL), a part of Mukesh Ambani’s business in the petroleum sector has begun discussions with Dighi Port to handle ethylene shipments which are currently handled by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai. Dighi Port is located 170 kms from Mumbai by road and around 42 Nautical miles from Mumbai. This port in the Raigad district of Maharashtra is currently being developed by Balaji Infrastructure in partnership with IL&FS and state Maritime Board. The total estimated cost of developing this port is around Rupees 2,500 Crores.Balaji Infra holds 69 per cent stake in the project and IL&FS 21%, while the remaining is with Maritime Board, which has not invested anything so far. “We are in negotiations with Reliance Industries logistics partner Aegis to handle its subsidiary Indian Petrochemicals’ (IPCL) ethylene shipments at our facility. If it works out this will majorly boost our volumes which crossed 1.1 million in FY14,” Vijay Kalantri, Chairman and Managing Director of Balaji Infra Projects, the holding company of Dighi Port, told PTI during a visit to the facility in Raigad district over the weekend. From the port’s perspective, things have been going very well so far. When fully developed by 2020 in two phases with a total investment of Rs 5,500 crore, the Port will have a capacity of over 70 million ton per annum with 15 berths. The 30-mt first phase is slated to be completed by 2015 with five berths, two on the south bank and the rest on the north bank, Kalantri said. The South Bank facility is what is critical for industries such as Ambani’s as its stated to be the one handling coal, bauxite, LNG, CNG and crude oil. Currently customers of the Dighi Port include Posco Steel, which is its largest client importing steel coils, and coal and bauxite traders. Kalantri said the Port has commitments from Uttam Galva Steel from next month, while talks with other steel mills like Essar and Bhushan are in advanced stage.