The Hindu Business Line : Haldia berths reservation: SAIL, Tata Steel respond positively

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Tata Steel have responded positively to the Kolkata Port Trust’s plan to reserve two berths (No. 2 and 8) at Haldia dock for handling coking coal, coke and limestone and extend certain concessions to firms, particularly to steel companies, using the berths with guaranteed throughput.

Agreements

Both the steel giants have indicated to shortly enter into agreements in this regard with the Haldia dock authorities, according to port sources. The users of the berths, guaranteeing minimum throughput of 1.5 million tonnes (mt) annually per berth, will enjoy certain benefits in the form of priority berthing and other facilities to be extended by the dock authorities.

Right now Tata Steel imports annually about 1.6 mt of coking coal, coke and limestone through the dock and mainly uses the berth number eight which is to be reserved under the new scheme.

Haldia berths

Earlier, the company used to import limestone through another berth (No. 12) which has been leased out by the dock authorities to TM International Logistics, a Tata Steel subsidiary.

Tata Steel

But not any more. Tata Steel’s total import of coking coal, coke and limestone is set for big jump in tune with the expansion of its Jamshedpur plant.

The import of coke will particularly rise with the full-fledged running of the Hooghly Metcoke, a Haldia-based joint venture between Tata Steel and the West Bengal Government.

Similarly, SAIL is also keen to step up its import through Haldia.

SAIL imports

Currently, SAIL imports only coking coal through the dock, an estimated 4.6 mt annually, largely through the berth number 4A.

However, SAIL proposes to increase its import to 5.5 mt annually, of which three to 3.5 mt will be through 4A and the balance through berth number 2 to be reserved under the new scheme.

SAIL, as the dock sources point out, has plans to increase its import of coking coal through Haldia up to seven mt in not-too-distant future. It also proposes to start importing limestone through the dock.

Since the navigability of the Hooghly river is a problem, SAIL, it is learnt, is mulling two-port operation, i.e., part unloading at Visakhapatnam and the balance at Haldia.

The dock sources indicate that the capacity of the two berths to be reserved for the steel sector is being raised from the present two mt each to 3.5 mt each through proper mechanisation so that other steel producing companies too can take advantage of the new scheme.

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