Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, together with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, laid the foundation stone for a ₹2,300-crore ($276 million) port-based e-methanol plant at Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla, Gandhidham. The facility, a joint initiative between the Deendayal Port Authority and Namrup-based Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd, will produce 150 tonnes of green methanol per day using renewable power, water and biogenic carbon dioxide, with the fuel destined for vessels plying the Asia-Europe International Trade Corridor. Officials said the project will be installed in phases as scalable modules, with the first 50-tonne-per-day module targeted for early 2027 and full capacity to follow shortly after.
The plant is expected to produce green methanol at approximately $750 per tonne, undercutting the prevailing global rate of roughly $1,300 per tonne, a pricing edge officials say could make Kandla a competitive bunkering hub for alternative marine fuel. The project forms part of a wider push by Deendayal Port Authority into maritime infrastructure, which also includes a shipbuilding venture with Cochin Shipyard Limited at Vadinar worth ₹1,520 crore and a proposed shipbuilding and repair cluster at Kuchhadi, Porbandar. India’s shipping ministry has separately outlined plans to add 100 new vessels to the national merchant fleet over the next five years as part of a broader ambition to rank among the world’s top five ship-owning nations by 2047.
Source: Business Standard — https://www.business-standard.com/amp/economy/news/economy-news-foundation-stone-laid-for-india-first-port-based-e-methanol-plant-126092700112_1.html
Tags: Green Methanol, India, Decarbonization, Kandla Port
