Adani Ports sells 49% stake in Vizhinjam port to shipping major MSC’s unit in $1.4 bn deal

Mumbai: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, the cash cow of Adani Group, on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell a 49% stake in the transshipment port at Vizhinjam in Kerala for $1.4 billion ( ₹13,225 crore) agreement was signed with global shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).

Terminal Investment Ltd, a unit of MSC, will pay $539 million for a 49% stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd. (AVPPL) is a 100% subsidiary of Adani Ports. According to the statement made by Adani Ports, the investor will pay an additional $858 million until December 2028 as its share of the costs of the $1.75 billion capacity expansion project at the port.

The port’s capacity is currently being increased from 1.6 million to 4.1 million standard containers per year, with plans to eventually increase to 5.7 million.

The partnership with the global shipping line is expected to not only generate free cash for Adani Ports but also predictably bring in more traffic. Adani Ports said that as part of the collaboration, Vizhinjam port will get better volume visibility and faster ramp-up. The port will receive a larger share of cargo from Bangladesh, which today largely passes through rival transshipment hubs in Southeast Asia.

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rose 1% in early trade on Tuesday ₹1,794.45 at 11am. The stock is up more than a fifth since January.

“Vizhinjam port has emerged as a leading hub and developed at an unprecedented pace, becoming the first Indian port to earn the unique distinction of crossing 2 million TEUs within 18 months of operations,” Ashwani Gupta, full-time director and CEO of Adani Ports, was quoted as saying.

Transshipment ports are global shipping hubs where containers are loaded from one ship to another for the onward journey, similar to how global airport hubs like Dubai operate for human passengers. Vizhinjam port’s proximity to a global shipping corridor and deep natural draw has the potential to make it the first globally competitive transshipment port in India.

The world’s leading transit ports include Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia, Busan in South Korea, Tanger Med in Morocco and Shanghai in China. Singapore handles more than 40 million containers annually.

Vizhinjam port became the fastest Indian port to cross the 1 million container milestone by handling 1.3 million containers from 615 ships in its first year of operation ending December 2025. The port has surpassed the 2 million container mark in 18 months and handled its 1,000th ship this month.

“I am delighted to extend APSEZ’s long-standing partnership with MSC to Vizhinjam as we prepare for the next leg of the port’s journey,” said CEO Gupta. “I am confident that our association will drive increased supply chain efficiency on a global scale and improve India’s access to key global mature and emerging markets.”