The Hindu Business Line : Box full of opportunities

WITH the finalisation of the private operator for the proposed container terminal and the recent setting up of a Container Freight Station (CFS) at Vizag port, container traffic through the port is likely to increase significantly in the coming months.

Estimated to cost about Rs 150 crore, the container terminal will be the second full-fledged container handling facility on the East Coast, after Chennai.

Three parties were in the race for the terminal, which is being offered by the port to the private sector on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

With the consortium of United Liner Agencies, an associate of J M Baxi and Co, and Dubai Ports International submitting the highest bid of Rs 29.66 crore, including royalty and upfront fee, the port is likely to accept the offer.

The consortium expects to wrap up the project in 18 months from zero date.

Another significant development has been the recent establishment of a CFS by the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and Seaways Shipping Ltd. Port sources say that another CFS is likely to come up shortly.

The port expects that these developments will significantly bolster its box traffic, which has not seen the desired growth.

From 14,307 TEUs in 1998-99, container traffic through the port has increased to 20,427 TEUs in the last fiscal and is expected to touch the 25,000 TEU mark in the current financial year. Trade circles feel that the port has lost a significant chunk of container traffic which is generated in its hinterland but is being diverted to either Chennai port or JNPT.

It is estimated that about 20,000 TEUs of container cargo generated in Andhra Pradesh is being diverted through Chennai — for example, one lakh tonnes or 8,330 TEUs of unmanufactured tobacco produced in Anaparthy, 10,000 TEUs of cargo of Bhadrachalam Paper Board Ltd and 500 TEUs of cargo consigned to AP Paper Mills are moving out from Chennai, though Vizag is the nearest port.

The port has estimated that the container cargo throughput by 2010 could touch the 1.5 lakh TEU mark, especially with the establishment of the full-fledged container terminal and the proposed CFSs.

Currently, about 13 shipping lines operate at the port through six feeder operators, including Oram Seaway Shipping, American President Lines, Strait Shipping Line and Bengal Tigers Ltd.

The Container Corporation of India (CCI) had recently introduced a special train from the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Hyderabad with a frequency of one service in 10 days and load space availability of 50 TEUs at the rate of Rs 4,300 per TEU for empties and Rs 6,200 per TEU for loaded boxes.

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