Montreal Port Authority has signed a Cooperation Agreement with Mundra Port of Gujarat State, north of Mumbai, aimed at developing cooperation in marketing and business development while sharing information on marine operations and industry best practices.
Mundra Port is India’s largest commercial port. A diversified port, it handles more than 100 million tonnes of diversified cargoes annually, including more than three million TEUs in annual container traffic. Owned by Adani Group, it is operated by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ). Adani is the largest port operator in India, and among the largest industrial companies in India, with interests in agriculture, fertilizers, power generation and transmission, coal trading and other basic industries.
Asia accounts for 25 per cent of Port of Montreal’s market and is by far the fastest growing segment. India alone accounts for 5 per cent of the Port’s volumes, yet was virtually non-existent as a market just a few years ago. Port of Montreal and Mundra Port both receive container ships, notably from such major international shipping lines as MSC and Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, OOCL and Maersk, which ensure connections between ports on North America’s East Coast and Mundra through transshipment ports in the Mediterranean.
Port of Montreal Vice-President, Growth and Development, Tony Boemi, said “Asia, and especially India, is an emerging market with enormous potential. It and Port of Montreal are already solidly connected thanks to container services. This Cooperative Agreement with Mundra Port strengthens our presence in India and showcases the Port of Montreal’s advantages as a strategic gateway of choice for goods destined for the North American market.”
India is one of the largest emerging markets in the world. With a population of 1.34 billion (2017), a 7.2 per cent growth rate and a rapidly growing middle class, India is experiencing a rapid increase in its infrastructure and product needs of all kinds: agro-food, consumer goods, construction materials, energy, etc. In 2017 the volume of goods handled by Port of Montreal to and from India rose by 40 per cent from 2016.