Supporting successful port operator Adani Group with equipment and services to build and maintain numerous ports in India
India’s largest private port operator, Adani Group, used to rely on contractors for maintenance and capital dredging work. In 2005, the Group decided to start building an in-house dredging department to save money on dredging work and to ensure the high paced growth in the port sector could be achieved.
New to the dredging industry, Adani was looking for a partner for the supply of reliable, cost-efficient dredging equipment as well as training and support.
After surveying the market, Adani opted for Royal IHC’ standardized dredging vessels. Over the years, the Group has purchased an extended fleet of CSDs from IHC. It currently owns eight IHC Beaver® 65 CSDs, one IHC Beaver® 7525 CSD and one IHC Beaver® 9029 CSD and in early 2016, Adani placed an order with IHC for the construction and delivery of two IHC Beagle® 8 TSHDs. By opting for standardized dredgers, Adani chose robust construction, reliable operation and excellent performance, resulting in the best value for money with the lowest cost per m3.
Although standardized, these systems can be customized with a bespoke set of options. The modular design of the series means the vessels are adaptable – either during construction or later on – to suit specific needs. For example, one of the IHC Beagle® 8 TSHDs will work with challenging soils, and therefore, will be equipped with a heavier draghead and additional propulsion power. This makes it possible for Adani to easily adapt to each situation if necessary.
When Adani Group started its own dredging division, the company had no experience operating and maintaining dredging vessels. We provided them with a training programme, training operators and crew, to ensure the local employees gained the right knowledge and experience to successfully operate the new equipment optimally.
The IHC Service Portal provides Adani with an online platform with all the manuals, drawings and certificates of all the IHC-built dredgers in its fleet. Readily available and easy to find, these references enable Adani’s engineers to carry out maintenance and repair jobs themselves. Additionally, our local service centre in Mumbai supports Adani with inspections, quick repairs and spare parts deliveries to guarantee equipment availability at all times.
Along with the dredging equipment and local training and support, IHC also assisted Adani in securing the right financing solutions. Adani opted for ECA financing. These financing structures are supported by the Dutch state and offer favourable terms and conditions based on the export of Dutch capital goods. In close cooperation, IHC liaised with the ECA, the banks and Adani, thereby coordinating the overall process. With its in-depth involvement, IHC was in a perfect position to help ‘connect the dots’ for all parties, which eventually helped achieve the financial structure Adani sought.
In the past ten years, Adani has achieved exponential growth. Since starting dredging operations on its own, the company has constructed numerous ports all across India. Fast availability of new dredging equipment was crucial in order to keep up with the rate of development. IHC was able to deliver the Beavers® from stock to ensure the equipment was quickly available.
When Adani Group started dredging on its own in 2005, the company had no experience operating and maintaining dredging vessels. IHC, with its long track record of building CSDs and training operators and crew to use their equipment optimally, was the perfect partner for port operator Adani to set sail with and start a successful dredging division.
On some dredging sites, Adani must deal with hard soil types. For this work, it is essential that the CSDs deployed on the project have the capacity and the correct equipment on board to handle it. IHC has taken this into account with Adani’s fleet of IHC Beaver® dredgers.
Some of the new ports that Adani is building can be found in remote locations. IHC Beaver® dredgers are easy to transport in order to reach these destinations. In addition, our local service centre in Mumbai is able to dispatch service engineers to even the most remote areas in order to support Adani with maintenance and repair tasks.
Adani now owns a fleet of 19 dredgers, of which IHC is the main supplier. Using these dredgers, it is able to perform a wide range of dredging operations, such as land reclamation, port construction and maintenance dredging. This equipment is operated and maintained by a team of over 1000 highly motivated and trained personnel. As a result, Adani isn’t just self-sufficient when it comes to dredging operations in its 10 locations in India; the company now owns the largest dredging fleet in the country and whenever spare capacity is available also takes on dredging contracts.
QuoteCol. Vinod George, Chief Operating Officer, Dredging and Reclamation at Adani Group says: “Since 2005 we have created our own dredging department, of which IHC is our main supplier. IHC has also helped us to gain dredging experience by providing training and services.
