In Teachers' Day Address, Gautam Adani Shares Story Of His "Karmabhoomi"

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani today looked back on the long journey he has taken in building his business and shared details about some key moments from his experience.

"... What you dream, you create. What you think, you become," Mr Adani said as he addressed students in Mumbai's Jai Hindi College on Teachers' Day.

One of the highlights of his address was what he called his "karmabhoomi", referring to the phenomenal story of how Gujarat's Mundra Port was developed.

The deep draft, all-weather port is the largest commercial port in India with state-of-the-art infrastructure.

"In 1995, the Gujarat government announced its port-led industrial development plan through public-private partnerships. Around that time, we had been approached by the global commodities trader Cargill. It was a proposal to partner for manufacturing and sourcing salt from the Kutch region. While the partnership did not materialise, we were left with about 40,000 acres of marshy land and approval to build a captive jetty at Mundra for the export of salt," Mr Adani said.

"What others saw as marshy barren land, we saw as a canvas waiting to be transformed. That canvas is now by far our nation's largest port. Mundra became my karmabhoomi and made my vision a reality, a powerful testimony to the fact what you dream, you create, and what you think, you become," he said.

Mr Adani said Mundra today hosts India's largest port, the largest industrial Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the largest container terminals, the largest thermal power plant, the largest solar manufacturing facility, the largest copper plant, and the largest edible oil refinery.

"And yet, we're only about 10 per cent of what Mundra will eventually become. It stands as a living monument to the power of integrated business models and the strategic value of adjacencies, challenging the very concept of core competencies that the West advocates," Mr Adani said.

With deep draft berths and multipurpose terminals, Mundra port efficiently handles the largest bulk carriers in the world. The port has covered and open storage areas with enormous capacity. Excellent cargo evacuation and receiving infrastructure, support smooth cargo movement in and out of the port.