Bharti Airtel to spruce up Mundra Port connectivity

Ahmedabad, Nov 8 (UNI) Telecommunications major Bharti Airtel today announced an alliance with the Adani Group for setting up of telecommunications network infrastructure for its multi-sector Special Economic Zone (SEZ) located at Mundra port.

Addressing reporters here, Bharti Airtel Ltd Joint President (Enterprise Services) Vinod Sawhny said the company would set up a telecom corridor connecting the Mundra Port and the SEZ site nationally and internationally. An MoU to roll out end-to-end telecom solutions for Mundra Port and MPSEZ of the Adani Group was signed between Mr Sawhny and Adani Group Chief Financial Officer (Infrastructure) Ameet H Desai.

''This end-to-end telecom solutions is first of its kind for an SEZ in India,'' Mr Sawhny said.

''For the connectivity, basic fibre optics is needed and has to be brought into the SEZ for preliminary connectivity and the work could take four to six months,'' said Bharati Airtel CEO&Director, Enterprise (Corporates) Mohan Menon.

Preferring to call the MoU an agreement, Mr Sawhny said the work of sizing up the entire telecommunications infrastructure needed for Mundra Port is being done. He, however, did not elaborate on the investment Bharati Airtel has committed to the venture.

The avowed objective of the venture was to make the Mundra Port and SEZ the most preferred destination, offering world-class infrastructrue, services and multimodal connectivity for global business, living, learning and recreation, he said.

Mudra Port is an all-weather port and has six operational berths, of which two handle container traffic. The SEZ, spread over 100 sq km in the Kutch peninsula, has a rail-road and air strip. It is the only SEZ in the private sector that has been notified as a multiparty activity.

Adani Group, founded in 1988, by Mr Gautam Adani today is one of the fastest growing conglomerates in India, which has seen a turnover of Rs 160 billion.

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