Krishnapatnam Port has installed a first of its kind Automated Fertilizer Handling System in the country which handles cargo operations from vessel to rail or road, cutting short handling time to hours.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, inaugurated the automated fertilizer handling system, at the Krishnapatnam Port, the country’s largest all-weather, deep water port located in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on the country's east-coast.

All-weather solution

This facility is equipped to handle fertilizer cargo operations right from the cargo discharge from vessel till evacuation by road/rail. This all weather cargo handling solution will enable the port to meet the increasing demand of imported fertilizers.

The system integrates multiple processes to augment the fertilizer handling capacity at Krishnapatnam Port while offering customised solutions to fertilizer importers.

Potential for transshipment hub

Amitabh Kant said: “New age ports such as Krishnapatnam, through automation and global technologies play very crucial role in efficient turnaround and cost reduction. The launch of Automated Fertilizer Handling System is a huge operational leap for the port which connects with the Prime Minister Modi’s initiative of Make in India and his dream of Digital India.”

“Backed with its excellent rail and road connectivity Krishnapatnam has a great potential to become a transshipment hub and an excellent alternative to Colombo Port,” he said.

C Sasidhar, Managing Director, Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. In a statement said: “Innovation and operational efficiency has always been at the centre of the scheme of things at Krishnapatnam Port. Demand for fertilizer cargo in India is huge, on an average India imports about 14-18 million tonnes of fertilizer cargo in a year. Considering benefits such as saving of time and cost along with customisable solutions, Krishnapatnam is all poised to become the most preferred among shipping companies and importers for fertiliser shipments."

Handling time down to hours

This facility will enhance Krishnapatnam port’s existing handling capacity to more than three million tonnes per annum. The manual handling of fertiliser cargo which prior to AFHS used to take two to three days. This has been radically reduced to a mere six to eight hours with the new automated system.

The procedure includes unloading from the vessel, packaging at the port moving to warehouse, and then loading on a rake (rail). Further, bagging and loading of the shipments can happen anytime of the year, including rainy season as the entire process takes place in shielded environment.

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