Sikka handles almost 50 per cent cargo of state’s non-major ports.
Steering past the slowdown, ports controlled by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) posted 34.60 per cent growth in 2009-10. They handled 206 million tonnes cargo as compared to 153 million tonnes in 2008-09.
“We have achieved a record growth of 35 per cent in cargo handling. Gujarat’s non-major ports are reaching new heights,” said Pankaj Kumar, chief executive officer and vice-chairman, GMB.
The Indian port sector was hit badly by recession last year. All non-major ports of Gujarat that are regulated by GMB posted 4 per cent growth in 2008-09 in terms of cargo handling.
“This was, however, higher than the national average of 2 per cent,” said a GMB official.
The growth was driven by Navlakhi, Magdalla, Jaffrabad, Sikka, Pipavav and Mundra ports.
The traffic at Navlakhi, Magdalla, Jafrabad, Pipavav and Mundra ports achieved growth of 57 per cent, 13 per cent, 16 per cent, 76 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, in 2009-10, said a GMB statement. The traffic at Navlakhi increased from 2.83 million tonnes to 4.46 million tonnes, while that at Pipavav rose from 2 million tonnes to 3.56 million tonnes, the release stated.
One of the main drivers of growth was Sikka port, operated by Reliance Industries. The traffic at Sikka rose from 65 million tonnes to 107 million tonnes, a growth of about 64 per cent. The new Reliance refinery at Jamnagar that added about 29 million tonnes annual refining capacity emerged the main growth driver, accounting for over 50 per cent of the cargo handled by the state’s non-major ports, said an official.
Container traffic at Pipavav and Mundra also rose. The containers of both 20 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) and 40 TEU showed 90 per cent growth in terms of tonnage at Pipavav port. At Alang Recycling Yard, there has been a rise of 50 per cent in steel recovered.
GMB has already started the process of setting up cluster-based marine shipbuilding parks. Recently, the state government approved three projects. To strengthen the road network around ports, concrete works are being taken up in phases. GMB ports have handle a variety of cargo, which is unique in the country. They have container terminals, LNG terminals, dry bulk and liquid bulk cargo terminals, car terminals, terminals for handling of over dimensional cargo, deep water berths/jetties and shipbuilding yards.
In 2009-10, shipyard projects worth Rs 4,662 crore were sanctioned for Gujarat. These included the Rs 600-crore AFCONS Infrastructure project, the Rs 1,200-crore Dahej shipyard (developed by ABG), the Rs 2,800-crore Jindal shipyard that is coming up in Vengani near Dahej, the Rs 31-crore Bedi port, being developed by Parekh Marine, and the Rs 1,200-crore Bharti shipyard at Mahuva.
