Ahmedabad, May 3 (IANS): Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (MPSEZL), the port arm of Adani Group's flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), Tuesday announced its acquisition of a port Abbot Point Coal Terminal (APCT) in Australia for 1.8 billion Australian dollars (Rs.8,710 crore).

The deal takes MPSEZL into the league of top global port companies, with its asset base of $100 million increased to over $3 billion in 10 years, the company said.

From a 2.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity in 2001, MPSEZL has now risen to cargo handling capacities of over 200 MTPA.

The sale-and-purchase agreement was signed Tuesday morning at Brisbane, Australia, between MPSEZL director Rajeev Sinha and the officials of the government of the state of Queensland, making it the only acquisition outside India by any port company of the country, the company said.

According to chief financial officer B. Ravi, the deal is one of the largest amongst all port acquisitions in the world, and makes the Adani Group the largest Indian investor in Australia.

"This acquisition is our contribution to India's increasing global ambitions and will synergise with other businesses of the group," said Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group.

Abbot Point, which commenced operations in 1984, is a fully mechanised, profit-making, port with take or pay arrangements for its entire 50 MTPA capacity, although it currently handles 20 MTPA of coal.

The Adanis will take over APCT June 1 and will be only the landlords of the port, which will continue to be run by the existing operator Xtrata for their five years of concession period.

At present, MPSEZL operates ports at Mundra and Dahej in Gujarat, and is developing ports at Hazira (Gujarat) and coal terminals at Mormugao (Goa).