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Mormugao port registers 12 per cent growth

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

As the iron ore exports from the Mormugao Port Trust started showing a marginal decline, the MPT has shifted focus to general cargo. The results have been heartening, with the general cargo traffic registering a 12 per cent growth. And exports of aluminium, sugar and molasses rose by a phenomenal 169 per cent.

The commissioning of Konkan Railway by the year-end and the conversion of South Central Railway's metre gauge tracks into broad gauge would further increase the general cargo traffic, said newly appointed MPT chairman Jose Paul, adding that the absence of a proper rail link affected the fertiliser and coal traffic.

The MPT now proposes to build an outer harbour with 13 new berths which will handle an additional 8.40 tonnes. The site for the Rs 22 billion project, to be built on build-operate-transfer basis, has been identified. However, Paul has appointed The Netherlands-based Fredric Harris to prepare a feasibility report. Approval of the Central Water Research Centre, Pune, has also been sought.

Meanwhile, two new berths are being added to the harbour at the cost of Rs 2.2 billion. The new berths will handle five million tonnes of dry cargo.

The MPT's other expansion schemes worth over Rs 40 billion include three berths of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, the Navy and the Coast Guard.

The MPT made a profit of Rs 29 million last year, with a net surplus of Rs 215.7 million. The profits are expected to rise to Rs 35 billion in the current year, claimed Paul.