The cargo volumes at India’s Major Ports increased by 5.2 percent during the first half of the fiscal year 2016-17 as the country’s ports handled a total of 315.4 million tonnes of cargo in the period from April to September 2016.
The rise in cargo traffic from 299.5 million tonnes, handled by the ports during the same period last year, is the result of a number of measures initiated by the Ministry of Shipping to improve the performance of the ports, according to the Government of India.
The measures implemented in the ports include mechanization of the terminals, improving the TAT (turn-around time), quick evacuation of cargo, expansion of infrastructure and skill development of employees.
Mormugao Port recorded the highest growth of 61% in traffic during the six-month period, followed by Paradip at 18.3%, Visakhapatnam at 11%, Kandla at 7.1%, Cochin at 5.2%, V.O. Chidambaranar at 3.5%, New Mangalore Port at 3.4% and Chennai Port at 0.3%.
Kandla Port handled the maximum cargo of 53.9 million tonnes during the first six months of the fiscal year. Paradip was a close second at 42.6 million tonnes, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) at 30.8 million tonnes and Mumbai Port at 30.8 million tonnes.
Iron ore cargoes jumped by 142.4% as compared to the same period last year, mainly due to the re-start of iron ore mining in Goa.
Petroleum, oil and lubricants increased by 5.8% followed by other cargo at 4.6% and container at 0.7% as compared to the same period in 2015-16.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.