NMPT has surplus capacity to handle any cargo: Chairman

New Mangalore Port Trust has surplus capacity to handle any cargo, according to PC Parida, Chairman of NMPT.

In an interactive meeting with the members of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Mangalore on Wednesday evening, he said that the port has an installed capacity of 77.77 million tonnes.

Of this, the capacity of crude and petroleum products handling at the port takes a major share of 31.17 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The single point mooring (SPM) facility for handling crude oil comes next with 18 MTPA. Other cargoes such as coal, container and fertiliser contribute 15.7 MTPA. He said that additional capacity of 5 million tonnes will be added by 2015.

The port handled total traffic of 39.4 million tonnes during 2013-14. That means the port is using around 50 per cent of its installed capacity.

Stating that the port has surplus capacity, Parida said: “We can handle any cargo.”

On the proposed closure of Shirady ghat stretch of NH 75 for vehicular movement from December, he said NMPT has asked the Railways to examine the proposal to handle container trains on Hassan-Mangalore route, as the movement of container cargo through road network will be affected during that period.

On the establishment of an LNG terminal at New Mangalore Port, he said the consortium of ONGC, BPCL and the Mitsui of Japan is planning to set up an LNG terminal of 5MTPA capacity. The consultancy work for the preparation of detailed feasibility report (DFR) on the establishment of the terminal will be awarded by October, he said.

Plans are also there to mechanise the handling of coal cargo at the port. No coal shall be handled manually after three-four years, he added.

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