Central government-owned Paradip Port Trust has overtaken Deendayal Port Trust to wrest the top slot by cargo handled during the April to June quarter among the 12 government-run ports in the country.

The port located in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district, close to the coal belt of Orissa, handled 25.734 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in the first quarter of FY21. The Q1 cargo volumes were 8.76 per cent lower than the 28.205 mt handled during the same period last year, according to the Shipping Ministry.

Yet, it edged past Deendayal Port Trust (formerly Kandla Port Trust) which handled 25.049 mt of cargo during the first quarter, a drop of 19.51 per cent from the 31.120 mt it handled during the corresponding period last year.

Paradip Port Trust and Deendayal Port Trust are two of the three ports in the country that handle over 100 mt a cargo a year. The third is the privately-run Mundra Port, which was the first to reach the three-figure mark in FY14, a milestone for ports.

Among the major port trusts (those run by the Central government), Deendayal Port Trust was the first to hit 100 mt in FY16 while Paradip crossed the feat in FY18.

In FY20, Deendayal Port Trust handled 122.499 mt while Paradip handled 112.689 mt.

Paradip Port Trust currently can handle 239 mt of cargo a year.

It caters to the vast industrial hinterland of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the entire northeast.

While the coronavirus induced demand destruction hit cargo volumes at the country’s ports during Q1, Paradip’s operational performance was driven by a surge in iron ore loadings which jumped to 6.915 mt from 4.842 mt in Q1 last year.

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