Coal to crude oil: Vizag port handled 69.03 tonnes of cargo last fiscal

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam Port handled 69.03 tonnes of cargo during the last financial year.

During 2020-21, the port handled 69.84 million tonnes of cargo.

Visakhapatnam Port Authority chairman K Rama Mohan Rao said there was a one percent drop in the volume of cargo handled due to the pandemic.

Addressing a press conference here, the chairman said Vizag ranked fourth among the major ports after Paradeep, Kandla, and JNPT and second on the east coast in terms of volume of cargo handled. This was despite stiff competition from the private port next door which handled around 40 million tonnes.

He said the port handled 70.05 lakh tonnes of steam coal, 38 percent more than the previous financial year. Thermal coal was 25.9 lakh tonnes, 100 percent more than the last year, and 85.83 lakh containers. This is five percent more than the previous year.

There was a decline in the handling of crude oil which was 142.49 lakh tonnes, which is 11 percent less than the previous year, iron ore and pellets 145.59 lakh tonnes, which is 23 percent less than the previous year and coking coal was 44.28 lakh tonnes, which is 18 percent less than the last financial year.

"We hope to reach 71 million tonnes during the current financial year. We have tied up with Anrak which would import bauxite from South Africa and crude import that would increase after HPCL completes its expansion," the chairman said.

He said the port invested Rs 3,769 crore on expansion projects, most of which have been completed. Among them, the fishing harbor is being upgraded as a world-class facility with an investment of Rs 150 crore.