The Hindu Business Line : Paradip port handles record volume in Jan

PARADIP Port Trust (PPT) handled a record volume of 26,47,629 tonnes of cargo in January 2004, surpassing the previous monthly best of 23,24,000 tonnes recorded in May 2003. In January 2003, the traffic throughput was 22,42,100 tonnes.

In terms of average daily throughput also, January was the best so far. On January 29, 2004, the daily throughput was 1.45 lakh tonnes, surpassing the previous best of 1.30 lakh also achieved in the same month on January 18, 2004.

Cumulatively, a total of 20.07 million tonnes (m.t.) of traffic was handled between April 2003 and January 2004 compared with 19.70 m.t. during the same period of the previous year, thus posting a 5 per cent growth.

PPT sources would attribute this improvement to jump in the throughputs of thermal coal, iron ore and coking coal.

In January alone, the volume of thermal coal traffic at 12,03,829 tonnes, including 8,75,000 tonnes handled in the port's mechanised coal handling plant, was the best monthly throughput achieved so far (the previous best being 10.06 lakh tonnes, including 7.35 lakh tonnes of the mechanised coal handling plant, in March 2003).

The coking coal throughput, at 3,39,017 tonnes, too was the best monthly figure so far (the previous best was 2.70 lakh tonnes in April 2003). In the case of iron ore, the January throughput, at 518,000 tonnes, however, was not the best monthly figure; the best figure of 6.61 lakh tonnes was recorded in May 2003.

Cumulatively, in April-January 2003-'04, the total throughput of thermal coal was 9.2 m.t. compared with 7.99 m.t. in the corresponding period of the previous year, posting 15 per cent growth, iron ore was 4.4 m.t. (3.67 m.t.), a growth of 21 per cent, and coking coal 1.99 m.t. (1.52 m.t.) or a growth of 32 per cent.

However, the throughputs of fertiliser raw materials and petroleum products recorded a sharp drop in January as also cumulatively till January. Thus, 260,989 tonnes of fertiliser raw materials were handled in January this year compared with 3.92 lakh tonnes in January 2003 and 1.27 lakh tonnes of petroleum products (1.85 lakh tonnes). Cumulatively, a total of 1.73 million tonnes of fertiliser raw materials were handled between April last year and January this year compared with 2.85 million tonnes in the same period of the previous year, a 47 per cent drop. Petroleum products stood at 1.08 million tonnes (1.67 m.t.), a drop of 35 per cent.