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Mundra - The Goldmine

An arid zone that turns into a pot of gold may sound a myth but Mundra demystifies the art of striking gold through a clear vision, mission and sheer perseverance. A port that drives a business empire and marvels the world is worth a peek into.

by Radhika Rani G.

As the Adani aircraft hovers over Mundra, the Mida’s touch of the Man of Aces glitters through the sprawling port arena. The buzz of men and machines working in unison and with precision seems as normal as the glimpse of sunset and sunrise. 

This business-as-usual attitude of people at work under a gleaming sun symbolises the race against time. It goes on to tell a tacit tale of once-upon-a-time barren land turning into a multidimensional port entity in just a decade! The story only grows racy with more people and activity joining the plot or rather the port.

The awe factor overwhelms even the men in action. “Mundra is growing right in front of us. But every month, we find surprises – a new building here, a container freight station there,” muses Anand Marathe, associate general manager at the liquid terminal.

Marathe has been working since 1999, just a year after the port started with two berths on the outer basin and the liquid terminal set off with a capacity of 1 lakh kilolitres. “Each year, we went on increasing capacity in the enclosures. Skilled staff too started going up.”

Today, the tank farms with 73 tanks can store 3,42,000 kilolitres of edible oils, petroleum products and chemicals. “The development is ongoing,” Marathe observes. He stands justified as the sight of well-engineered facilities all around and some more in the making make sense. New tank farms, especially for bunkers, naphtha and kerosene, will be coming up soon, he says. The terminal is just part of a larger port story unraveling each day.

Revving up

Elsewhere in the West Basin, the dedicated import coal handling terminal goes full steam in a phased manner with two deep-water offshore berths coming up in record time. With a 17.3-metre draft that can handle capesize vessels, the mammoth West Port is by far the most cherished story for the workforce. The facility, they say, will help Mundra handle more than 20 million tonnes of coal imports, up from 14 million tonnes last year, to feed power plants operated by utility firm Tata Power and sister company Adani Power.

Buoyed with enthusiasm, the staff top-down is keen to talk projects and targets. Alkesh Vikaria, a junior-level officer working in the project planning and control at the West Basin, reels off figures with ease. “We are developing 19 berths at the West Basin. For this, we are dredging a 3.5-km long, 360-m wide and 21-m deep approach channel. We can have vessels up to 2 lakh DWT. The rock bund is 5 km long made with 30 lakh metric tonnes of stone and completed just in nine months – the fastest made here,” he sums up with a sense of accomplishment, even as he prods his Mukesh 'Sir', DGM-Civil, to narrate further.

Running swift

Taking projects to the next quick level of innovation and excellence seems commonplace as managers discuss automation and efficiency. Capt Anurag Bhagauliwal, in-charge of the steel and project cargo division, says, “We have the vision to make Mundra steel yard the world’s best in the next 6-7 months.” By December this year, he hopes the fully automated steel yard will be safer, faster and cost-effective where pipes will be lifted by vacuum spreaders, multiple lifts with no labour intervention. “We are mapping the productivity levels – handling 6,000-7,000 tonnes of pipes per day and 28,000 tonnes of coil.”

With value for money coming its way, the trade is keen to take the road to Mundra. Or rather the rail! A large number of CFSs have been coming up in the Kutch region to cater to the growing profile of cargo. “Over the past decade,” says Samir Shah of JBS Group of Companies, “forwarders, custom house agents and other service providers have developed the ability to be in a position to serve both export and import cargoes.”

However, the port can still improve and maintain its last-mile connectivity as a continuous process, he opines. “Additionally, it can, with the help of the local administration, stop unregulated development outside and develop it for large infrastructure projects besides taking up large-scale CSR with quantifiable deliverables,” he adds.

Sustaining spirit

Despite fame-induced delays disrupting growth plans, the work-is-everything and all-for-one attitude echoes in Adani House – the swanky administrative block of the port. Hosting a growing number of visitors, the House, as the staff calls it, rather talks the walk – exuding an air of discipline and empowered work culture that trickles through other on-field departments.
For Capt Unmesh Abhyankar, Chief Operating Officer, meeting guests and deadlines is all in a day’s work. 

Having been with Mundra since 2005 and setting into motion the single-point mooring facility, he exudes the joy of playing a key role in several other milestones and sharing the success story he was part of. “The port has continuously seen growth in terms of the number of vessels handled, 20 per cent to be precise, cargo throughput achieved and turnaround time decreased. Also the size of the vessels has increased over a period of time,” he informs. He and his staff feel elated that the 322-m long, 8,500-TEU Northern Jaguar of MSC Lines called the port – the largest container vessel to have touched any Indian harbour so far.

Adding many other firsts to its kitty (see highlights), the port now serves as the hub to the group’s power, energy, mining, oil & gas, agri-business and FMCG. The leader Rajeeva Sinha believes such mutual growth is the USP of the Adani business.

Coal mines, ports, power plants and shipping have a connect and so “the logic is to help all our businesses to help other businesses of the group,” the director of the MPSEZ says. The idea of integration seems to pay off as the Adani Enterprises could consolidate its position and take its net profit to Rs 2,476 crore in FY11, up a whopping 169 per cent yoy.

Moving up

“We believe in a non-bureaucratic and result-oriented work culture,” points out Manoj Sharma, Vice President with Adani Power Ltd, who has been overseeing human resource management.

“Our wide scale of businesses and pace of growth present a range of opportunities and exposure,” he says as he cites himself as example, being the senior vice-president of corporate human resources earlier before moving to the current portfolio.

Such non-linear approach is what has made Abhijitsinh Jadeja the commodity manager in dry cargo operations at the port. Taking on his first job at Mundra post MBA, he plays a key role in the team that is working towards a target of handling 50 million metric tonnes of minerals, fertilisers, agro products, timber and steel products.

Such a rookie-rocking account is common among the 8,500 workforce in the group and the HR team is busy adding more numbers each day. “This job came as one of my best opportunities and platforms to jumpstart my career,” he says and hopes to make a better contribution and be a part of the success of the group.

With the stage set, the men in blue are all game for the alchemy of striking gold. For them, the Man and the Mida’s touch are just irresistible.

Note: Mundra Port renamed Adani Port in January 2012.

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