Adani to develop automobile terminal at Mundra port

Ahmedabad: The Adani Group’s Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (MPSEZ) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Mumbai for setting up a dedicated automobile terminal with Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) of Japan and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines (WWL) of Norway, the company announced.

NYK is a proven leader in operating auto terminals worldwide and has an extensive fleet of Ro-Ro ships offering regular sailings to and from the major ports around the globe, while WWL operates its own terminals in Europe, the US and Asia and has a fleet of over 60 Pure Car/Truck Carrier (PCTC) and Ro-Ro vessels for providing global, cost effective and reliable ocean product.

Mr Kim Buoy, Head of Terminals & Inland Services, WWL, Tokyo said that WWL wants to be an active partner in transferring best practices and expertise from its global network.

Mr Koji Shinozaki, Deputy General Manager, NYK, said that building this terminal in Mundra will bring efficiencies in auto logistics industry which will help in making India a global player in automotive logistics.

Capt Sandeep Mehta, CEO (Operations), MPSEZ, said the automobile terminal facility at Mundra will help the port in imbibing the international best practices.

Mundra Port is set to become a hub for handling of automobiles because of its proximity to the major auto manufacturers in North and West India.

Maruti Suzuki and Nissan will start exporting their cars to Europe from Mundra Port in January 2009.

They will be using the port facility which will be able to handle 200,000 cars a year before the new dedicated auto terminal facility is ready.