India took a major step toward becoming a green energy exporter after the formal foundation stone laying ceremony took place at Kandla Port for the country’s first port-based e-methanol plant.
Chief ministers of Gujarat and Assam along with Union Minister of Ports were present at the function held at Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kandla in Gandhidham – Gujarat on Saturday the 26th of September 2026.
According to the details released by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, the 150-tonne-per-day plant will use renewable power, water and biogenic CO2 to produce e-methanol, a green fuel that will enable cleaner shipping, and supply it to vessels plying on the Asia-Europe International Trade Corridor, one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
The project positions India as an exporter of green fuel to global shipping.
The plant will position India as a global leader in the production and supply of green fuel, and will produce green methanol at a much more competitive rate compared to other global producers, just US$750 per tonne, against a global rate of US$1,300 per tonne.
The Rs 2,300 crore plant is a joint initiative of Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) and Namrup-based Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd. (APCL), and will be installed in phases, as scalable modules.
Phase I of the project will add 50 tonnes per day of capacity at an investment of ₹1,200 crore, targeted for completion by January 2027, followed by Phase II, which will add a further 100 tonnes per day at an investment of ₹1,100 crore, targeted for March 2027, taking the total investment to ₹2,300 crore.
The capital contribution between the two partners stands at a ratio of 76:24 between DPA and APCL.
DPA’s contribution to the project includes equity capital of ₹567.32 crore, 75 acres of land, desalinated water, and renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen.
It shall be amongst the largest e-methanol production facilities in India and shall create more than 3,500 direct and indirect jobs.
The project aims to stimulate the complete green energy value chain in and around Kandla, including transportation, storage, supply and other associated ancillaries involved in production of green molecules.
The government plans to add 100 new ships to the country’s merchant fleet over the next five years and aims to make India one of the world’s top five ship-owning nations by 2047.
Global shipping major Maersk has also begun ordering containers manufactured in India.
As part of Deendayal Port Authority’s wider mega port push, the DPA-Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) shipbuilding project at Vadinar, worth ₹1,520 crore, is also underway, alongside a proposed greenfield shipbuilding and repair cluster at Kuchhadi, Porbandar, which has received in-principal approval.
