Ports: Mundra Port terminal deal under scrutiny over link with Chinese company
The government is evaluating an agreement between the Adani Ports’ French joint venture partner CMA CGM and the China Merchants Group.
A proposal to transfer ownership of a terminal at India’s busiest port Mundra Port in Gujarat to a Chinese company has come under the government’s scanner.
The government is evaluating an agreement between the Adani Ports‘ French joint venture partner CMA CGM and the China Merchants Group, according to a report by The Hindu.
The proposal is being scrutinised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and there is a possibility of red flags being raised, the report said.
Government officials who have received the application told the publication that the deal has “not been cleared as of now”. The application has also been sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Shipping, the report said.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.
Adani Group clarified as per the report that it has not filed the application itself.
“We are not the applicant. We partner with CMA-CGM for the terminal in Mundra Port. We are the operator of the terminal as well as the port at Mundra port,” a senior official of the Adani Group said.
“CMA-CGM is the third largest shipping company in the world and they are our partner in Mundra,” the official added.
Chinese investments in India have come under increased scrutiny amid rising border tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Press release
