India's Adani Group has agreed to sell a 49% stake in its flagship Vizhinjam International Seaport to Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for $1.4 billion.

The deal is aimed at accelerating the growth of the southern Indian port and expanding its role as a regional container transshipment hub.

Adani said the partnership is expected to help Vizhinjam capture a larger share of Bangladesh-bound cargo.

Much of Bangladesh's container traffic is currently transshipped through regional hubs such as Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang before reaching its final destination.

The deal, announced on Tuesday, values the Kerala-based port at about $2.85 billion. Adani Ports described it as the single largest foreign private investment in India's port infrastructure sector.

AFP first reported the transaction. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals. 

MSC, the world's largest container shipping company, will acquire the stake through its terminal operating arm, Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited, the concessionaire operating the deep-water port.

"Vizhinjam port has emerged as a premier transshipment hub and ramped up at an unprecedented pace," Adani Ports Chief Executive Ashwani Gupta said in a statement.

He said the partnership would strengthen cargo volumes, improve supply chain efficiencies and accelerate the port's expansion.

Adani said the investment would also help Vizhinjam secure a greater share of Bangladesh's cargo, which is currently transshipped through competing hubs in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia before reaching Bangladeshi ports.

The Bangladesh market has become an increasingly attractive target for Indian ports as New Delhi seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign transshipment hubs and handle more regional cargo through domestic facilities.

Bangladesh's ports, particularly Chattogram, handle growing container volumes but receive relatively few ultra-large container vessels, making overseas transshipment essential for most long-haul trade.

Industry estimates show that around 90-95% of Bangladesh's containerised imports and exports are transshipped through foreign hubs, with Colombo accounting for roughly two-thirds of the traffic, while Singapore, Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas handle much of the remainder.

By diverting part of that cargo to Vizhinjam, India hopes to position itself as a competing gateway for regional container trade.

Located about 10 nautical miles from one of the world's busiest east-west shipping routes, Vizhinjam is India's first dedicated deep-water container transshipment port.

Its natural draft allows it to accommodate some of the world's largest container vessels with minimal dredging, an advantage over many existing Indian ports. 

The port has expanded rapidly since commercial operations began in December 2024. According to Adani Ports, it became the first Indian port to cross two million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) within 18 months of operations.

Its current annual capacity of 1.6 million TEUs is being expanded to 5.7 million TEUs by the end of 2028 through additional berths and terminal infrastructure. 

The transaction marks the third partnership between Adani Ports and MSC after joint ventures at Mundra and Ennore.