India’s second-largest private-sector port and terminal company in terms of capacity and throughput, Essar Ports, announced a record of 20% cargo growth with a throughput of 27.29 MT, in the April to September period of the ongoing financial year, ending in March 31, 2020.
The growth in particular has been driven by a 183.21% increase in third-party cargo, compared to that in the corresponding period in the previous financial year. Cargo from captive customers grew by 6%, according to a statement made by Essar Ports, which operates four terminals on the east and west coasts of India.
Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports Ltd, stated that “significant boost in third-party business has been the key driver for our growth in overall volumes. Alongside this, our focus on driving operational efficiencies and minimizing operating costs has helped in recording strong growth. Essar Ports has consistently surpassed the average growth rate of the sector, which is showing signs of heightened economic activity.”
In fact, the 50 MTPA terminal Hazira issued a 3.24% growth, with the cargo handling of 14.17 MT, compared to the same period last year, with 46% growth in third-party business over the numbers compared the same period last year.
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Moreover, India’s largest iron ore handling terminal, located on the outer harbor of Visakhapatnam Port, the 24 MTPA Essar Vizag Terminal (EVTL), has handled 91 MT of cargo with 52.22% overall growth compared to same period last year.
The deepest draft facility of Saurashtra region, the 20 MTPA Essar Bulk Terminal Salaya (EBTSL), has recorded a cargo throughput of 3.22 MT in the first half of the fiscal year. Lastly, the 16 MTPA Essar Bulk Terminal Paradip (EBTPL), in Paradip Port, has accomplished a cargo throughput of 4 MT in the first half of FY20.
Earlier this year, Essar Ports informed that higher capacity utilization at its recently commissioned terminals at Salaya and Vizag, as well as an increase in third-party cargo will be the two key factors that will help the company achieve its target of handling 60 million tonnes of cargo by 31 March 2020.
Namely, for the quarter ended 30 June 2019, Essar Ports reported a 17.4% increase in cargo volumes across its four terminals. The total throughput stood at 13.5 million tonnes, up from 11.5 million tonnes in the same period last year.
The company is also working with the Government of India in order meet its ambitious target of developing 3,130 MT of port capacity in the country by 2020.
In April this fiscal year, India’s 12 major ports achieved a 5.65% increase in cargo handling to 60.07 million tonnes (MT). This was mainly because of higher demand for coal, petroleum, oil and lubricants. These ports handled a total of 56.86 MT of cargo in April 2018.
