According to a senior port official, VPT is planning to upgrade its iron ore handling facility, including increasing the outer harbour depth from the existing 16.5 metres to 18.1 metres, to accommodate 200,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) vessels at the outer harbour.

The port is planning to take bank loan to fund the project and had recently got the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

At present, MMTC Limited, NMDC and private steel companies like Hy-grade Pellets, Vikram Ispat, Ispat Industries Limited and over 20 iron ore exporting companies use the Vizag port for exporting iron ore. During the last fiscal, the port handled about 18 million tonnes of iron ore compared with 14.70 million in the previous year. It expects this to touch 25 million tonnes in the next five years.

The Vizag port has the largest fleet of cargo handling equipment, including a 4.8-km long overhead conveyor system for loading iron ore running about 12 metre above ground level, the longest among all the 13 major Indian ports.

The port also surpassed the cargo target of 64.24 million tonnes (mt) set by the Union shipping ministry in 2007-08 by handling 64.60 mt.

During the year, the port handled 18.36 mt of iron ore, 3.99 mt of fertilisers and raw materials, 19.80 mt of POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants), 7.46 mt of coking coal, 2.90 mt of thermal coal, 1.13 mt of container cargo and other cargo of 10.96 mt.