Adani Ports Signs IMEC Partnership With Port of Marseille Fos to Strengthen India-Europe Trade Corridor 

On 18 February 2026, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) notified the BSE and NSE that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Port of Marseille Fos, framing the agreement as a strategic step to reinforce the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and consolidate India–Europe trade connectivity. 

The disclosure (Ref No: APSEZL/SECT/2025-26/142) positions the tie-up within the expanding policy architecture around IMEC, a corridor initiative first unveiled at the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi. 

Corridor Alignment Extends from Mundra to Southern France 

The MoU was signed during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, underscoring its diplomatic backdrop. But the operational intent, as described in the release, is distinctly commercial and infrastructural. 

IMEC is designed as a roughly 6,000-kilometre multimodal corridor linking India and Europe through maritime shipping routes, rail connectivity, digital systems and clean-energy logistics. Within that structure, APSEZ’s ports at Mundra and Hazira serve as anchor points on India’s western seaboard. Marseille Fos, in turn, functions as a principal Mediterranean gateway into the European hinterland. 

The agreement proposes the formation of an “IMEC Ports Club” a structured forum intended to institutionalise dialogue among corridor ports. Rather than operating as isolated gateways, participating ports would coordinate on investment priorities, policy frameworks and operational standards. In infrastructure corridors of this scale, alignment often determines efficiency. 

Beyond coordination, the MoU sets out four priority areas: 

• Joint promotion of the IMEC route as a competitive alternative for Eurasian trade flows, including participation in trade fairs and business outreach. 
• Technical exchanges covering port digitalisation, smart-port systems, data interoperability and cybersecurity. 
• Collaboration on sustainability initiatives such as alternative fuels, shore power and low-carbon bunkering. 
• Development of a Mundra–Marseille Fos Green Maritime Corridor. 

Management Commentary 

Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer of APSEZ, stated that the company’s ports have already established connectivity across the initial and middle legs of the corridor, and that the Marseille partnership effectively links the final European segment. He added that deeper coordination may accelerate cargo movement and strengthen supply-chain resilience among participating countries. 

Hervé Martel, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Marseille Fos, described the timing as significant, noting that the IMEC corridor is entering what he termed a decisive phase requiring structured cooperation between gateway ports. No capital commitments or timelines were disclosed in the exchange communication. 

Scale and Capacity Across Both Gateways 

APSEZ operates 15 ports and terminals across India’s west, south and east coasts, with a current cargo handling capacity of 633 million tonnes per annum. According to the company, it accounts for approximately 28% of India’s total port volumes and is targeting throughput of 1 billion tonnes by 2030. 

Its logistics footprint extends beyond marine infrastructure. The company runs 12 multi-modal logistics parks, manages 3.1 million square feet of warehousing capacity and operates a fleet of 127 vessels. More than 25,000 trucks are integrated into its platform, supporting inland cargo movement from ports to hinterland destinations. 

The Port of Marseille Fos handles around 74 million tonnes of cargo annually and oversees a 10,400-hectare industrial and logistics zone one of Europe’s larger port-based ecosystems. It provides multimodal access via rail, river, road and pipeline networks, serving more than 15 million consumers in southern France and reaching over 70 million inhabitants across the Rhône-Saône corridor and Western Europe. 

The French port has also outlined plans to invest more than €1 billion between 2025 and 2029 to accelerate decarbonisation and support renewable hydrogen and circular-economy initiatives, according to the release. 

The MoU formalises intent rather than final investment structure. Still, it connects two high-capacity maritime nodes positioned at opposite ends of the IMEC framework. 

Whether the corridor evolves into a fully integrated trade spine will depend on execution, interoperability and policy continuity across participating jurisdictions. For now, the agreement marks another incremental step in structuring the India–Europe route around coordinated port infrastructure rather than standalone gateways. 

source: https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/rkbhagia_18022026102258_SEIntimation18022026.pdf