Adani group's port firm on Thursday reported highest-ever monthly cargo volume in April on the back of increased movement of containers and higher shipments of iron ore and coal to support a fast expanding economy.

"Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) handled 32.3 million tonnes of total cargo in April. up 12.8 per cent over the same month last year," the company said in a statement.

This growth in cargo volumes is supported by dry cargo volumes increase of 9 per cent (iron ore, non-coking coal and coastal coal) and container volume increase of 13.6 per cent.

APSEZ is India's largest commercial ports operator in India accounting for nearly one-fourth of the cargo movement in the country. It operates 11 seaports including Gujarat's Mundra port, the largest commercial port in India.

"Growth in cargo volumes across most of our ports reflects that our strategy of improving operational efficiency is delivering results and this will continue to boost the ROCE of port assets," said Karan Adani, CEO and whole-time director, APSEZ.

"I am also pleased to announce that Dhamra LNG Terminal berthed its first ship and the natural gas started flowing in the pipeline network connected to the terminal, well in line with our guidance of achieving the LNG terminal commissioning during Q1 FY24." Four ports recorded significant sequential growth in monthly volumes. These include Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh (5.2 million tonnes, 22.6 per cent growth year-on-year), Dhamra in Odisha (3.3 million tonnes, 36.8 per cent y-o-y), Tuna in Gujarat (1.15 million tonnes, 57.6 per cent y-o-y), and Tamil Nadu's Katupalli & Ennore combined (1.7 million tonnes, 13.3 per cent y-o-y).

Gujarat's Mundra port handled its largest shipment of vegetable oil (soyabean oil) of 61,841 tonnes, surpassing the previous highest of 57,000 tonnes (palm oil).

The Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh handled its highest monthly rakes count of 88 on account of handling coastal coal cargo for one of its customers.

"The investments in rail infrastructure at our ports have been one of the catalysts for our improved operational performance. Continuing that journey, Dahej Port completed the extension of overhead electric lines, thereby enabling it to handle rakes with electric locomotives of Indian Railways," the statement said.

With the commissioning of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) line till Dadri in Uttar Pradesh in April 2023, the double-stack rake services from ICD Dadri to Mundra Port will now become operational. Supported by ICD at Patli, this connection will further boost volumes at Mundra Port, and the total rail volumes for Adani Logistics.

During April, total rail container volumes grew 22 per cent year-on-year to 47,122 TEUs and bulk cargo (GPWIS) volumes jumped 40 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes.

This ongoing development of the country's rail network will continue to drive the Logistics Performance Index of India in with the government's ambition.

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