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JSW Group-owned South West Port Ltd has restarted two multi-purpose berths it runs at Mormugao Port Trust in Goa from July 6. This follows the Goa State Pollution Control Board giving its consent for the operations. The facility has been shut since April 1 for non-compliance with earlier approval terms.
“The Goa Pollution Control Board has given consent to the company to operate a limited quantity of 400,000 tonnes per month and the facility has resumed operations from July 6,” said a spokesman for the Mormugao Port Trust.
Restarting the facility is critical to the fortunes of the struggling Mormugao Port Trust, which earns half of its revenue from South West Port. At 4 lakh tonnes per month, South West Port will be able to handle 3.6 mt till the consent to operate ends in March 2019.
“It’s a brief respite for us,” a South West Port official said. “The consent to operate will meet only half of our requirements,” he added. South West Port is meeting the balance requirement using Krishnapatnam port.
The two multi-purpose berths run by South West Port from 2004 play a key role in bringing in raw materials and shipping finished products for JSW’s 12 mt steel plant at Vijayanagar in neighbouring Karnataka. The port facility is linked to the steel plant by rail and is considered an ideal location for the steel-maker’s captive use.
Excess cargo
Goa’s pollution body had revoked its consent after the port operator started handling cargo in excess of the limit approved by it.
South West Port was granted permission to handle 5.5 mt of cargo. But, since 2012, it has been handling double the amount, allegedly posing health hazards to the residents of Vasco town, where the facility is located.
South West Port, JSW’s first port facility, is being expanded to handle as much as 15 mt, according to documents filed for environment clearance.
The expansion will be done by deploying highly mechanised, environment-friendly material handling systems, enhancing the existing conveyor speed and by improving the rake loading turn-around time through operational efficiency, making evacuation and despatch more efficient, the company said.
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