Vedanta to export bauxite powder from Kadinada

Kakinada Sea Port Limited (KSPL), in association with Chettinad Port Limited, had constructed these silos at an investment of Rs 80 crore, which have a capacity of 67,500 tonnes. Around 20,000 tonnes of bauxite powder have already been stored in the silos. The first vessel is likely to carry the bauxite powder in the first week of June.

For exporting 600,000 tonnes of bauxite powder a year, the company needs a railway line from its site at Lanjigarh to Muniguda in Orissa. In the current scenario, it is able to export 20,000 tonnes of bauxite powder a month.

A KSPL official said other companies that are into bauxite export could also utilise the silos facility.

Meanwhile, the port has also completed the construction of the off shore vessel (OSV) complex. This has facilitated the operations of the four berths of which one berth has been exclusively allotted to Reliance Industries Limited.

The KSPL officials hope the declining iron ore cargo is likely to be made good by the increasing bauxite powder exports. "The KSPL should also create a container terminal facility at the port. This would boost the shipping trade and also help increase the occupancy rate,'' said Dantu Surya Rao, chairman of the Coconada Chamber of Commerce.