Paradip Port set to handle 300 mn tonnes in 3 years

Visakhapatnam: Buoyed by its phenomenal success by emerging numero uno major port in India during 2023-24 snatching away the coveted position from Deendayal (Kandla) Port, Paradip Port Authority (PPA) is gearing up with grandiose plans to join the elite list of ports handling over 300 million metric tonnes in next three years.

Paradip Port with its present handling capacity of 289 million metric tonnes has set a target to cross the 300 million metric tonnes capacity mark in another three years with the commissioning of Western Dock project. The work of Western Dock project with 25 million metric tonnes capacity is in full swing by the PPP operator M/s JPPL. The project envisages increasing the draught, enabling it to hand fully laden cape vessels by 2026, according to its Chairman P L Haranadh.

On emerging first, he said “meticulous planning and hard work by the workforce and wholehearted support from the stakeholders and patronage from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways have enabled us to excel our performance and achieve the significant milestone.”

In an exclusive interview to Bizz Buzz, Haranadh, a 1994 batch IRTS officer, who earlier had a successful stint as the Deputy Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) for five years, said their remarkable journey reached new heights with the recent record-breaking achievement of clocking incredible 145.38 MMT cargo in FY 2023-24 by overtaking Deendayal Port, to emerge as the highest cargo handling major port of India.

A cursory look at the provisional financial results reveals an operating revenue crossing Rs 2,300 crore against Rs 2,074 crore in comparison to previous fiscal, resulting in an increase of 14.30 per cent. The operating surplus has crossed Rs 1,510 crore against last year’s Rs 1,300 crore with a growth of 16.44 per cent. The net surplus before tax has crossed Rs 1,570 crore against the previous year’s Rs 1,296 crore exhibiting growth of 21.26 per cent. Net surplus after tax has also crossed Rs 1,020 crore against Rs 850 crore last year, which is a 20 per cent increase. The operating ratio has also improved to 36 per cent against 37 per cent last year.

The port is located at the confluence of Mahanadi and the Bay of Bengal, about 390 km south of Kolkata and 480 km north of Visakhapatnam, Paradip Port set up in Odisha on March 12, 1966 has an ambitious plan ahead to further scale up.

For the first time in its 58 years history of operation, PPA has surpassed previous records, set by Deendayal Port. Paradip Port has also recorded growth of 10.02 million metric tonnes (7.4 per cent) of traffic on Y-o-Y basis. During the financial year the port achieved its highest ever coastal shipping traffic of 59.19 million metric tonnes, with a growth of 0.76 million metric tonnes, which is 1.30 per cent over the previous year.

Giving details on their achievements, Haranadh said the thermal coal coastal shipping has reached 43.97 million metric tonnes that is 4.02 per cent over the previous year cargo handling. Thus, Paradip Port is emerging as a hub for coastal shipping in the country. The port has been able to improve its berth productivity to 33,014 MT from 31,050 MT of previous financial year, thus registering 6.33 per cent growth. Significantly, the berth productivity achieved by Paradip Port is the highest among all the ports of the country.

During the financial year, the port handled 21,665 rakes, registering a growth of 7.65 per cent over the previous financial year. The port has handled 2,710 ships, registering an increase of 13.82 per cent over the previous financial year.

The Chairman said the increased performance in cargo handling has been driven by various system improvement measures undertaken by the port during the financial

year, which includes improved system of operation at mechanised coal hand plant to reduce idle time, simultaneous handling of one cape, and one panamax at coal handling berths.