Essar Ports cargo handling up 17% in Q1

Private ports operator, Essar Ports Limited on Wednesday posted overall 17 per cent growth in the cargo throughput at 13.5 million tonne for the first quarter of current fiscal as against 11.5 MT in the corresponding quarter last year.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2019, Essar Ports reported an impressive 17.4 per cent growth in cargo volumes across its four terminals, the company said.

The growth, according to the company is triggered by the higher capacity utilisation at its recently commissioned terminals at Salaya and Vizag ports and an increase in third-party cargo.

Essar Port's first-quarter cargo handling performance is triggered by the high volumes of dry bulk cargo (iron ore, iron ore pellets, thermal coke, pet coke and bauxite among others). Riding on the robust performance in throughput company expects to achieve its target of handling 60 million tonne of cargo by end of this fiscal on March 31, 2020.

The combined throughput stood at 13.5 million tonne - up from 11.5 million tonne in the same period last year. All Essar terminals are focused on bulk and dry bulk cargoes that are primarily used as a raw material in core sector industries, like Steel and Power.

"Our business is on a record growth trajectory with all terminals operating in full swing. A significant boost in third-party business and enhanced capacity utilisation of our anchor customers has been the key driver for the growth in volumes. We have consistently surpassed the average sectoral growth rate and are confident of achieving our target by March 2020," said Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports Ltd.

Its current operations span four terminals with a combined capacity of 110 MTPA, which is roughly 5 per cent of India’s port capacity.