Stating that better connectivity among ports was of paramount importance to enhance efficiency, Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan today said this aspect should be given importance in all ports in the country.
"I would like to stress again that connectivity to ports is of paramount importance and it is to be given adequate attention not only in Ennore Port but also in all the other ports of the country," he said, after flagging of the Railway Siding at Ennore Port Ltd here.
The Railway Siding infrastructure set up at a cost of Rs 51.60 crore would enable the coal and iron ore stack yards at Ennore Port Ltd to be connected with the southern and northern mainlines of Railways and provide a major boost for Ennore Port as well as BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) operators, he said.
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"This facility will minimise the time consumed for shunting, leading to more rack movements and faster evacuation of cargo," he said.
Observing that the Ennore Port has lined up several projects, he said during the 12th Plan period, it aims to double the present 30 tonnes per annum (TPA) to 67 TPA.
"EPL is going to add substantial capacity through projects like 5 TPA LNG Terminal, 16 TPA Container Terminal, 2 TPA multi-cargo terminal-2, 9 TPA additional coal berth No 3 for TANGEDCO," Vasan said.
With the development of these terminals the capacity of Ennore Port would be "more than double from present 30 TPA to 67 TPA by end of 12th Plan," he said.
Ennore port has six cargo handling berths with capacity of 30 TPA. It has handled about 14.80 million tonnes (MT) of cargo annually on an average and is expected to handle 24 MT during the current financial year, he said.
"It has already handled 20.87 MT at the end of December 31, 2013," he said.
