The Visakhapatnam port has reported a 20 per cent decline in cargo handling during the first quarter of the current financial year, as compared to the corresponding period last year.
During April-June 2012, the country’s second-largest port has handed 14.89 million tonne of cargo, as against 18.64 million tonne during the same period last year.
The decline was primarily on account of the three-million tonne of iron ore and petroleum products that the port had lost during the quarter. However, it has registered some growth in handling container cargo, which grew 50 per during the quarter.
The port has handled 3.41 million tonne of iron ore, 4.04 million tonne of petroleum products, 2.40 million tonne of coal, 1.24 million tonne of container cargo and 3.80 million tonne of other cargo during the first quarter of the current financial year, as against 4.41 million tonne, 5.93 million tonne, 2.78 million tonne, 0.83 million tonne and 4.69 million tonne respectively in the same period a year ago.
“Following the alleged iron ore mining in several states and high duties being levied, ore exports dipped significantly. Also, a majority of crude transshipment cargo has shifted from Vizag to Paradeep port. All these factors resulted in the reduction in cargo handling by the Vizag port,” port sources told Business Standard.
According to the sources, the only factor that brought cheers to the port was the increase in container cargo. The container berth at the port is being operated by a private company, VCTPL.
“Courtesy the marketing efforts by the private company, the container cargo handling has been increasing year-on-year. While the port has handled 2.57 million tonne of container cargo in 2010-11, VCTPL is expecting this to cross the five-million tonne mark this year,” they said.
