Dhamra Port has received environmental clearance from the government for its next phase of expansion worth R7,000 crore, which would be invested over the next five years. The port will be ordering 11 cargo berths under the plan that would result in more than a three-fold rise in capacity, the port's chief executive officer Santosh Mohapatra said. This development follows the Orissa Port naming Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) as its operations consultant. Last year, Gautam Adani-promoted APSEZ agreed to buy the port, which is an equal venture between Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro. Once it comes through, this would be the largest deal in the Indian ports sector pegged at R5,000 crore by industry analysts. This deal will boost APSEZ's presence on the east coast – which has now also caught the government's attention. “We got a crucial environmental clearance, and will be ordering 11 berths soon that will be able to handle 100 metric tonne per annum (mtpa) of cargo from the present 25 mtpa. This clearance comes at an opportune time,” the port executive told FE. A shipping ministry official pointed out that Adani Ports is inching closer to sealing the deal with Dhamra Port as it has already begun advising the port in its operations.