Vizag port misses cargo handling target

The Visakhapatnam port is now facing a tough time in reaching the shipping ministry's targets in cargo handling.

The port managed to handle only 171 lakh tonnes of cargo by the end of July this year as against the ministry's target of 206 lakh tonnes "� a shortfall of 35 lakh tonnes. The port has even failed to match its own figure of the corresponding period last year.

During April-July last fiscal, the Vizag port had handled 177.63 lakh tonnes of cargo whereas the figure for the same period this year is 170.98 lakh tonnes, a shortfall of 6.65 lakh tonnes.

The port gained on petroleum products' front this year by handling 8.11 lakh tonnes more than it did in the last corresponding period while it lost by 11.56 lakh tonnes with regard to iron ore.

During the four months of the last fiscal, the port handled about 47.07 lakh tonnes of petroleum products compared with 55.18 lakh tonnes this fiscal.

In iron ore handling, the port "� for the first four months of last year, ie, April-July "� exported 55.01 lakh tonnes of iron ore and iron ore pellets, but the exports fell to 43.45 lakh tonnes during the same period this fiscal.

"We expected good growth in iron ore exports this period. But due to the delay in signing agreements between the NMDC and MMTC Limited on ore prices and exports, our iron ore exports dropped by more than one million tonnes," K S D Dattu Raju, traffic manager, Vizag port, told Business Standard.