APM Terminals Plans Joint Venture with Indian Oil Firm

APM Terminals Pipavav, which operates India’s Port of Pipavav, agreed to lease nearly 100 acres of land to Mumbai-based Aegis Logistics.

The land will be used to build an oil and petrochemical storage complex, the company said.

“A new berth for liquid cargo has already been built at the port, “APMT Pipavav said. “With liquid cargo storage facilities being developed by Aegis, we will be able to offer our customers a comprehensive portfolio of facilities for a large variety of cargoes.”

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The company, a subsidiary of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said Aegis will invest up to $90 million to develop the proposed logistics center.

“With our existing locations in the ports of Mumbai and Cochin, we are one step closer to achieving our stated aim of creating a ‘necklace’ of similar port terminals around the coastline of India,” Aegis said.

Pipavav, an all-weather, deep-water facility, is India's first port to be developed through public-private-partnership model. The APM Group holds 54 percent equity in the port, while the remainder is held by domestic and foreign institutional investors.

The west coast hub hosts several fixed-day weekly container services, providing direct connections to key trade lanes of Europe, the U.S. East Coast and the Far East. In recent years, it has emerged as a major gateway for the vast hinterland regions of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi with dedicated road-rail connectivity.

Besides Pipavav, APM Terminals operates the Gateway Terminals, the largest container facility at the country’s busiest Port of Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru), in a joint venture with state-owned rail operator Container Corporation of India.