The Hindu Business Line : Haldia bid to improve productivity of berths

IN a bid to step up productivity of non-BOT berths not handling containers and bulk items such as oil, coal and iron ore, Haldia dock authorities are working on a scheme which presupposes deployment of hired equipment in these berths. Whether the equipment will be operated by the dock's own employees or by those on the pay-roll of the suppliers of the equipment is still to be decided.

Only two of a dozen berths within the impounded dock of Haldia are on BOT basis. These are 4A and 12. While 4A is under a special purpose vehicle floated by International Seaports Private Ltd., the number 12 berth is under TM International Logistics, a Tata Steel subsidiary. Except the oil jetties, coal, iron ore and container berths which are fully mechanical, the level of mechanisation at other berths such as the Finger Jetty, and berth nos. 4B, 8 and 9, which are owned and operated by the dock authorities themselves, leaves much to be desired. In berth number 5, the equipment, supplied by the dock, is operated and maintained by an outside agency.

"One of the defects of the country's port planning is the absence of berth-specific equipment planning," Dr A.K. Chanda, Chairman of Kolkata Port Trust, told Business Line here on Tuesday. "There is no point adding to the port capacity by constructing new berths on the waterfront without fully exploiting the potentials of the existing berths through proper deployment of equipment," he said, adding "After all, the space on the waterfront is a scarce item which must not be put to improper use."

The essence of the scheme being finalised is this: Haldia dock authorities will acquire on lease various equipment depending on the requirement of each berth.

Meanwhile, cargo throughput at Haldia in January was 3.7 million tonnes, bringing the total so far in the current fiscal to around 34.8 mt.