Vizag Port cargo handling up 17%

Visakhapatnam Port registered about 17 per cent growth in cargo handling during the first half of the current fiscal as compared with the corresponding period last year.

Besides, it emerged as the premier port in the country for the seventh consecutive year by handling 56.3 million tonnes of cargo during 2006-07.

During the April-September period, the port handled 30.61 million tonnes of cargo. Iron ore exports stood at about 8 million tonnes, which was around 2 million tonnes more compared with the last year.

"Iron ore accounted for half of the growth. Other cargo like fertilisers, cocking coal, thermal coal too increased significantly while container cargo registered reasonable growth," KSD Dattu Raju, traffic manager, Vizag Port, told Business Standard.

During the first half of the last year, the port handled 27,425 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) of container cargo, and this year it stood at 29,795 TEUs.

"We expect to touch the 60-million tonnes mark in cargo, as the LPG cavern project in the port area is all set for commissioning and this would increase the import and export of petroleum products from the port," he stated.

However, during the first six months of the current fiscal, the Kandla port handled 30.69 million tonnes of cargo, which is about 8,000 tonnes more than the cargo handled by the Vizag port.