Essar Ports' Q1 cargo handling up 12% on heightened activity at Essar Steel

Growth in traffic was also due to a 60% increase in third-party cargo volumes

Essar Ports on Friday reported a 12 per cent year on year growth in cargo handling for the first quarter of the 2017-18 fiscal at 19.62 million tonnes (mt). 

The substantial growth in traffic at the company’s three dry bulk ports in Hazira, Paradip and Visakhapatnam, came on the back of heightened activity and capacity utilisation of Essar Steel, which is Essar Port’s anchor customer.

The overall growth in traffic was also helped by the 60 per cent increase in third-party cargo volumes during the quarter. Essar’s dry bulk terminal at Paradip Port recorded 131 per cent growth in cargo handling.

For the quarter ending in June 2017, the dry and unit cargo growth stood at 32 per cent, the company said in a statement. 

Rajiv Agarwal, CEO & MD, Essar Ports, said, “FY18 has started on a promising note for Essar Ports. Handling 19.62 million tonnes of cargo in Q1 itself is an encouraging sign and we are confident of sustaining our performance and grow throughout the year.”

Essar Ports has a current capacity of 140 mt per annum (mtpa). The capacity is being expanded to 194 mtpa over the next few years. Essar Ports has five operational port terminals at Hazira, Vadinar, Paradip, Salaya and Visakhapatnam.