Essar Vizag Terminal (EVTL) today said it will shutdown its operations for a week ahead of the installation of an 8,000 tonnes per hour ship loader as part of the firm's expansion plan.
"It was taking a week-long shutdown ahead of the installation and commissioning of an 8,000 TPH (tonnes per hour) Ship Loader that forms a part of the company's Rs 830- crore expansion plan to upgrade the iron ore handling capacity of the Vizag Terminal (outer harbour) from 12.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 23 MTPA," the company said in a statement.
EVTL CEO C H Satyanand said the shutdown is a planned move, which was being undertaken without any disruption to exporters' shipments.
"Given that we are replacing a 41-year old ship loader with this new one, the short turnaround time is quite remarkable," Satyanand added.
During the shutdown -- from December 13 to 19 -- other cargo handling equipment, including a new reclaimer and a mechanical conveyor system, will also be commissioned.
Following these developments, EVTL is likely to achieve a cargo handling rate of 1,20,000 TPD (tonnes per day), which will translate to shorter turnaround time and competitive freight costs for exporters on the east coast.
EVTL took over the Vizag Port expansion project in May 2015 on a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a period of 30 years. Since then, the company has augmented the iron ore loading capacity of the terminal from 25,000 TPD to 70,000 TPD.
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