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Our Bureau

Chennai , June 25

IRON ore handling by MMTC Ltd from Chennai region is likely to increase by about three million tonnes (mt) a year following the commissioning of a temporary iron ore handling at Ennore port, country's first corporatised port.

Export of iron ore by MMTC, country's largest iron ore exporter, dropped to 11 mt in 2003-04 as against 13 mt the previous year, says a company release.

The facility at Ennore was commissioned on Thursday, with the first iron ore vessel, Navios Meridian, handling about 50,000 tonnes of high-grade iron ore fines for China.

The facility came up following congestion at Chennai port for iron ore vessels during of 2003-04. Iron ore vessels had to wait for 50-60 days to get a berth. MMTC faced delays in sending iron ore to China and Japan, and looked at Ennore for alternative arrangements, the release says. The Chennai port is also faced with the prospect of iron ore exports getting phased out by 2008, the release says.

MMTC will use the temporary facility at Ennore till commissioning of a regular iron ore terminal there. A semi-mechanical iron ore loading facility at Ennore was developed by MMTC with adequate stacking capacity to load cargo into geared vessels. MGM Anand Transport, part of the Chennai-based MGM Group, constructed the facility on a BOT (built, own and transfer) model.

The anchorage for loading vessels is within port's protected breakwaters and feeder barges are directly fed through a conveyor system that extends 225 metres into the sea. Iron ore is transported by rail from Bellary-Hospet to Ennore facility, which can achieve a ship loading capacity of 15,000 tonnes a day, the release says.

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