GPL aims to double cargo handling

Gopalpur Ports Limited (GPL) has set target to double the cargo handling in the next shipment season of the port starting October next.

The seasonal port, located about 30-km from here, handled around 4.99 lakh metric tonne of cargo in 2009-10. It included 2.60 lakh tonne of exports and 2.39 lakh tonnes of imported cargo. During the last shipment season, 21 ships from different countries had anchored in the port.

The cargo traffic in 2009-10 had gone up by 90 percent over the previous year. In 2008-09, the port had handled 2.52 lakh tonnes of material.

The commodities transacted through the port included coal, iron ore, fertiliser and ilemnite, a mineral product of the Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of the public sector Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL).

“In the coming shipment season, we have set a target to handle about 10 lakh tonnes of the cargo”, MM Moharana, director, GPL.

GPL, jointly promoted by the Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) and New Delhi based Sara International Limited (SIL), is currently operating the Gopalpur port under a concession agreement with the Orissa government. The port has an anchorage facility and operates for about seven to eight moths in a year.

GPL, which is engaged in developing the port to an all-weather and major port, has recently tied up the finances for its first phase expansion estimated at around Rs 848.78 crore.

 In the first phase, GPL plans to set up the breakwaters, berths along with associated material handling facilities like stockyards, warehouses and railway infrastructure.

The company has already started process of awarding construction contracts and expects to commission the new facility within the next two years.