Adani Ports seeks fresh approval for denotified SEZ at Mundra

NEW DELHI: Adani Ports and SEZ has sought fresh approval from the government for 1,856 hectares multi-product special economic zone at Gujarat's Mundra, which was denotified in October last year due to non-conformity with SEZ rules.


Company sources said 16 hectares land have been added to resolve issues that had led to de-notification of the special economic zone (SEZ). The SEZ is adjacent to existing tax-free zone of APSEZ and was earlier proposed to be developed on 1,840 hectares of land.

The Board of Approval, a 19-member inter-ministerial body headed by Commerce Secretary S R Rao, will take up company's proposal in its meeting tomorrow.

Agenda papers for the meeting, however, showed that Adani Ports is yet to secure Gujarat government's recommendation approving the tax free zone.

The company declined to comment on the matter. In October last year, the government had cancelled the 1,840-hectare, multi-product SEZ being developed by the Gujarat-based Adani Group firm at Mundra, citing violation of various SEZ norms.

They included not conforming to contiguity norms and being in violation of the rule which requires the tax-free zone site to be vacant before approval is sought. The site was land-locked without means of proper transport at the time of cancellation.

Under the contiguity norms for the SEZs, a developer is required to develop the zone on a single tract of land. Besides, the land should be vacant.

The government had carried out an inspection of the site before arriving at the final decision.

Adani group sources said that their senior officials held several meeting with government officials and the contiguity and other related issues have now been resolved.

Accordingly, 16 hectares of land has been added to the denotified SEZ to resolve the issues and Adani Ports is hopeful of securing the government clearance, they added.

Mundra is the base for Adani Ports as it operates its flagship port from here, besides the existing and proposed new SEZ. During the first quarter of the current fiscal, Mundra Port became largest domestic port in the country in terms of cargo handling.