The Hindu Business Line : Paradip port concerned over drop in coal shipments to South

PARADIP port is concerned at the decline in coastal shipments of thermal coal through the port for Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and other power plants located in the South.

In first six months of the current fiscal, the shipments at 4.55 million tonnes showed a drop of about one mt against the same period of last year. The trend, if it persists, will render infructuous the huge investment made to install the massive mechanised coal handling plant at the port, fear the port authorities.

The plant has the capacity to handle as much as 20 mt annually. In 2004-05, it handled a little less than eight mt while the manual handling was of the order of 2.6 mt. In first six months of the current year, the throughput of the coal handling plant was 3.9 mt while the volume handled manually dropped to 0.6 mt.

It might be noted that the capacity of the mechanised coal handling plant at Ennore port too will remain under-utilised as a sequel to the drop in throughput at Paradip port's coal handling plant. This is because the coal handling plants at Paradip and Ennore are twin plants installed with assistance from the Asian Development Bank to facilitate loading of thermal coal at Paradip and the unloading of the same coal at Ennore.

Low output from Talcher: The non-availability of thermal coal caused by not-so-satisfactory production at Talcher coal mines under Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd is believed to be responsible for the drop in coastal shipments through Paradip. National Thermal Power Corporation has already started importing power-grade coal through Paradip and Haldia to meet shortfall in supply from the Talcher mines.

This, Paradip port authorities apprehend, might also prompt the thermal plant authorities in the South to import coal. If that happens on a large scale, the port authorities will have reasons to feel worried. Not long ago, coal shipments of thermal coal accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total traffic throughput of Paradip.

Traffic throughput up: Meanwhile, Paradip port posted 10.84 per cent growth in traffic throughput at 16.11 mt in first half of the current fiscal against 14.53 mt in the same period of last year.

Item-wise break-ups show that during the period under review, the throughputs of thermal coal were 6.32 mt (5.67 mt) also including imports by NTPC, coking coal 1.99 mt (1.65 mt), petroleum products 0.48 mt (0.38 mt), iron ore 4.74 mt (3.85 mt), containers 2,099 TEUs (1,463 TEUs) and other items 1.66 mt (1.47 mt). The throughput of fertiliser raw materials at 1.34 mt (1.88 mt) showed a drop of nearly 30 per cent.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Indus Airways to take to skies this month

Nagpur set to become international airport — Air Arabia to start operations from Oct 16

Hyderabad emerging as attractive destination for foreign airlines

Additional charge as IA CMD approved

DCI to form separate ventures with two foreign majors

Paradip port concerned over drop in coal shipments to South

JNPT transport workers to go on indefinite strike

GE Shipping delivers vessel

Konkan Rly keen on Skybus project in Hyderabad