WDFC won’t divert cargo volumes to competing ports : APSEZ

AHMEDABAD : Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has dismissed concerns that the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) could siphon cargo away from its flagship Mundra Port in Gujarat, saying structural advantages like draft, vessel turnaround and integrated logistics will keep the port competitive.

The Western DFC, a 1,506-km electrified freight corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to ports including Mundra and Nhava Sheva, is designed to enable faster, high-capacity double-stack container trains. While it is expected to increase freight efficiency across northern and western India, APSEZ said the corridor would have minimal impact on Mundra’s volumes, as the port’s operational and cost advantages remain unmatched.

Mr.Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director & CEO of APSEZ, recently told investors, “Anything which comes to Mundra can also go to a Vizhinjam for the transshipment. So that is the competitiveness in Mundra as a port. Now we can always say that the catchment area for our competitor and us are different, so that will always continue. Now the question is what is the impact of DFC on us? It is negligible, or I would say zero even, because when it comes to the travel time, the travel time on the DFC will improve but the travel time on connections to the competitor port and to the competitor ICD will remain the same as it is between Mundra and our other ICDs in the NCR.”