Cargo handling at Visakhapatnam Port declined by about 700,000 tonne during 2008-09, compared with the preceding year, mainly due to the recession and shifting of cargos to the Gangavaram port.
“Iron ore exports fell significantly due to recession. Besides, cargos like coking coal shifted to the nearby Gangavaram port, impacting handling,” port sources told Business Standard.
The port handled about 63.9 million tonne of cargo during the period, as against about 64.6 million tonne in 2007-08, missing its set target of about 65 million tonne.
The port had handled 18.3 million tonne of iron ore and ore pellets in 2007-08, but this dropped to 17.5 million tonne in 2008-09. While it handled 8 million tonne of coking coal and lam coke in 2007-08, this was reduced to 7.5 million tonne in 2008-09.
“More than 500,000 tonne of coking coal shifted to the Gangavaram port during the last fiscal,” they added.