A ₹2,300 crore green fuel facility broke ground at Deendayal Port, Kandla on Saturday, 26 September 2026 — and the symbolism was as deliberate as the engineering. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for an e-Methanol plant with a capacity of 150 tonnes per day (TPD), flanked by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma — two states, one stage, one shared maritime ambition.

What 150 TPD of e-Methanol Actually Means for India's Ports

E-methanol — produced by combining green hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide — is rapidly emerging as one of the most viable low-emission fuels for the global shipping industry. At 150 tonnes per day, the Kandla plant would rank among the larger dedicated e-methanol facilities in Asia once operational. Deendayal Port, one of India's 12 major ports and the country's single largest by cargo volume, is a logical anchor for such infrastructure: it already handles a vast share of bulk and chemical cargo, making it a natural bunkering hub for green marine fuels.

Sonowal framed the event in expansive terms, writing on X: 'Translating Vision to Reality!' — and invoking the 'Mantra of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat' as the ideological scaffolding powering what he called India's 'Green Maritime future.'

Green Hydrogen Mission Meets Port-Led Development

The project sits at the intersection of two significant policy streams. India's National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved in 2023, specifically targets production of green hydrogen and its derivatives — including e-methanol — to drive industrial and transport decarbonisation. Simultaneously, the Sagarmala Project, launched in 2015, has been pushing port modernisation and green upgrades across the country's major port network. The Kandla plant is, in effect, where both currents converge.

International shipping faces tightening emission norms from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has set ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from global fleets. Indian ports that can supply compliant fuels like e-methanol stand to capture significant bunkering business as shipowners scramble to decarbonise their operations. Getting the infrastructure right — and early — is the bet Sonowal's ministry is making.

Two CMs, One Port — The Ek Bharat Subtext

The presence of both Bhupendra Patel (Gujarat) and Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam) on the Kandla dais was not accidental. The Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat initiative — launched in 2015 to foster cross-state developmental and cultural ties — provided the framework Sonowal explicitly cited. Sarma's attendance at a Gujarat port ceremony is a pointed illustration of how the Centre is using high-visibility infrastructure events to project inter-state solidarity under BJP governance. Sonowal himself, a former Chief Minister of Assam, carries personal credibility in that equation.

For Gujarat, the plant reinforces Kandla's strategic positioning as a green-energy port. For Assam and the northeast, the association signals a connectivity of aspiration even if the physical infrastructure sits a continent away from Guwahati.

What Comes Next at India's Major Ports

The Kandla foundation stone is the most visible signal yet of where the ministry intends to take green fuel infrastructure. The broader question — one the shipping industry will be watching closely — is how quickly similar capacity follows at other major ports: JNPA near Mumbai, Chennai, Paradip, and Vizag all handle fuel-intensive traffic where e-methanol bunkering could transform economics. Rollout speed, private investment mobilisation, and grid connectivity for green hydrogen electrolysis will determine whether today's foundation stone becomes tomorrow's operational hub — or another ambitious headline waiting for follow-through.

India's green maritime window is open. The clock, and the shipping lanes, are moving.