Dhamra port to handle SAIL vessels

Odisha’s Dhamra port, owned and operated by Dhamra Port Company Ltd, a joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T, is set to handle SAIL (Steel Authority of India Ltd) vessels for the first time.

Two capesize vessels (capacity 175,000 dwt upward), each with an average parcel load of about 1.5 lakh tonnes of coking coal for the public sector steel giant , are to call the port, the first one shortly and the next one after about a month. Only a few days ago, the port handled another capesize vessel with a parcel load of more than 1.63 lakh tonnes of steam coal for NTPC Ltd.

“In November, we handled 1.5 million tonnes (mt), including one mt of coal, the highest ever monthly traffic throughput achieved”, according to a spokesman for DPCL.

“Cumulatively till November, the figure is close to nine mt or so.”

At this rate, it is hoped, the port should end up the current fiscal with a throughput of 14 mt, up from 11.08 mt in 2012-13 and in 5.06 mt in 2011-12. This is being achieved, it is pointed out, despite several constraints facing the port as there are only two berths and the state of connectivity is not something to crow about.

“Generating confidence among our users, both existing and prospective, that we can deliver is also a major challenge,” he observes. Fortunately, some success has been achieved in this regard.

For example, initially, the port handled only Tata Steel cargo; but not any more. Subsequently, several other organisations both in the private and public sectors showed interest in the port to handle their imports and exports, in fact, more imports than exports, and some of them actually started using the port.

Inquiries reveal that the first phase environment clearance for the port’s proposed capacity expansion, known as second phase expansion, has already been obtained. The proposed expansion presupposes construction of anything between 10 and 15 additional berths – four for handling dry bulk cargoes and two each for containers and LNG while the fate of others is still to be decided. The doubling of the railway line capacity and improvement of the road connectivity too are part of the proposed scheme. The investment, still to be finalised, will be huge. The existing two berths along with railway line and other facilities cost more than Rs 3,000 crore.

Meanwhile, the employees of DPCL appear to be a worried lot. They are apprehensive of their future as uncertainty persists over the ownership of the company. There have been umpteen reports suggesting that the Adani Group is to acquire the controlling stake in the company.

“Nothing has happened as yet and there is status quo,” observe sources adding, “As of now, the Adanis are only consultants to the port”.

santanu.sanyal@thehindu.co.in

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