NEW DELHI, September 26: India has laid the foundation stone for its first port-based e-Methanol production facility at Deendayal Port in Kandla, Gujarat, with the ₹2,300 crore project planned to produce 150 tonnes of green marine fuel per day for vessels operating on the Asia-Europe International Trade Corridor.
The facility is being developed jointly by Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) and Assam Petro-Chemicals Limited (APCL). Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma participated in the foundation-stone ceremony at Gandhidham on September 26.
The plant will use renewable power, water and biogenic carbon dioxide to produce e-Methanol, which will be supplied to vessels plying the Asia-Europe International Trade Corridor. The government said the project is aimed at positioning India as a producer and exporter of green fuel for global shipping.
The project will be developed in two phases. Phase I will add 50 tonnes per day of capacity at an investment of ₹1,200 crore and is targeted for completion by January 2027. Phase II will add a further 100 tonnes per day at an investment of ₹1,100 crore, with completion targeted for March 2027.
DPA and APCL will participate in the project in a 76:24 capital contribution ratio. DPA’s contribution includes ₹567.32 crore in equity, about 75 acres of land, desalinated water and renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen.
The government expects the project to create more than 3,500 direct and indirect jobs and support related activities including transportation, storage and supply of green molecules around Kandla.
The latest project builds on an MoU signed by DPA and APCL in January for a 150-tonne-per-day e-Methanol facility at Kandla. That earlier agreement envisaged capital investment of more than ₹1,200 crore, with DPA providing pipeline connectivity, storage and fuel-handling infrastructure while APCL would establish the production facility within the port area.
The September foundation-stone announcement retains the previously planned 150-tonne-per-day capacity but sets out a larger ₹2,300 crore two-phase investment programme and detailed commissioning targets for the project.
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