Panel meet on coal handling at ports

An empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court to examine the issues involved in handling iron ore and coal in the Chennai and Ennore Ports, held its first meeting at the Secretariat here over the weekend. The panel is headed by Union Shipping Secretary P.K. Sinha.

Talking to reporters here, Mr. Sinha said, “We have been given time till July 15 to submit our findings to the Supreme Court on handling coal and iron ore at Chennai Port/Ennore Port. This is our first meeting and we will have series of meetings over the next few weeks.”

Apart from Mr. Sinha, the meeting was attended by Union Forest and Environment Secretary T. Chatterjee, Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi, representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and IIT-Madras.

The study will be based on terms of reference given by the Supreme Court to assess the impact or extent of pollution due to handling dusty cargo such as coal and iron ore at Chennai Port Trust; suggest remedial measures to be adopted to remedy pollution caused by handling the dusty cargo in question with reference to techno-economic viability; and assess the standard of facilities available at the Ennore Port Ltd. (EPL) to handle it.

According to the sources, the data regarding the pollution levels in both the ports were compared by the team members for further reference.

They would also seek views of the public before submitting their findings. Later, a sub-committee was formed for the next round of meetings.

Asked whether EPL was capable of handling dusty cargo in case Supreme Court directs it to handle it, Mr. Sinha said it was wrong to term EPL as a competitor to ChPT as the former was formed as a satellite port to ChPT and hence both the ports should be seen as a single entity.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Sinha inspected the ChPT and EPL facilities, interacted with the stakeholders and union members on how to decongest the ports.

One of the members suggested moving containers using barges from ChPT to EPL.

The members also said Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project, widening of the 1.6-km road from harbour's main gate to S.N. Chetty Street and Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated road link project have to be given fresh impetus.

ChPT chairman Atulya Misra said the port's equity contribution for EMRIP stood at Rs.250 crore, of which the Port had paid Rs.67 crore so far and the balance would be released soon.

To cut the delay in Public-Private-Partnership projects, the Shipping Ministry has written to the Centre seeking waiver of approvals of shipping and port projects from Rs.300 crore to Rs.500 crore; have weekly review meetings and reduce the time taken for security clearances among other things.

Coal continues to top Railways’ freight list

Coal continues to be single largest item of freight traffic of the Indian Railways (IR), with its share in total freight traffic set to rise to more than 47 per cent in 2012-13 from around 47 per cent in 2011-12. In the current fiscal, the coal throughput of IR is targeted at 485 million tonnes (mt) out of the total targeted freight traffic of 1,025 mt while the actual volumes handled in the last fiscal were 456 mt of coal out of a total of 969.78 mt. Thus coal alone will be 29 mt out of the targeted incremental freight traffic of 55.22 mt in 2012-13.

After coal comes cement with an incremental throughput target of 10.5 mt at 118 mt (107.5 mt), followed by foodgrains 4.1 mt at 49.75 mt ( 45.6 mt), the container traffic 3.4 mt at 42 mt (38.6 mt) and iron and steel 2.2 mt at 37 mt ( 34.8 mt). The throughputs of raw materials ( other than iron ore) for steel plants will post a growth of 0.85 mt at 15.25 ( 14.4 mt) and other cargoes 0.6 mt at eight mt (7.4 mt).

The iron ore traffic, it is estimated, will post a negative growth , marginally though. In 2012-13 IR is targeted to handle 104.65 mt of iron ore covering all segments like exports, domestic and integrated steel plants as against 104.71 mt in 2011-12.

ZONEWISE DISTRIBUTION

Zonewise, South East Central Railway, the largest freight-loading zone of IR, has been given a freight traffic target of 158 mt over last fiscal’s throughput of 150.73 mt.

The corresponding figures for other zonal railways are East Coast Railway 130 mt (120.77mt ), South Eastern Railway 118.3 mt (117.01 mt), South Central Railway 111.5 mt (103.17 mt) and East Central Railway 102 mt (94.68 mt). Thus, these five zonal railways together are to handle nearly 620 mt , or more than 60 per cent of the total targeted traffic.

Among other zonal railways, Western Railway has been given a target of 75.5 mt (70.64 mt), Eastern Railway 61 mt ( 57.75 mt), Central Railway 58 mt ( 55.61 mt), Northern Railway 50 mt (47.1 mt) and South Western Railway 34 mt ( 33.18 mt).

The highest incremental target , 9.27 mt, has been given to East Coast Railway, followed by South Central Railway, 8.33 mt. With coal import steadily rising, the zonal railways like East Coast and South Central, having exposure to both ports and inland collieries, will handle more traffic than others having no exposure to port related traffic. On the other hand, Western Railway with hardly any colliery link handles only imported coal , particularly through Mundra, perhaps the country’s biggest coal importing port.

Court order on dusty cargo: Chennai port's loss is Krishnapatnam's gain:

Hyderabad May 18: 

The recent Madras High Court order restraining Chennai port from handling dusty cargoes such as iron ore and coal and instead shift these ‘dusty cargo' handling operations to Ennore port may come as a boon to the neighbouring Krishnapatnam port in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

In anticipation of getting a significant scoop of the dusty cargoes currently being handled at Chennai port, Krishnapatnam port, developed and operated by the $5-billion Navayuga Group, is stepping on the gas to complete its Rs 4,000-crore phase-II development programme.

In addition to this, the port has now proposed an additional investment of Rs 2,000 crore to further mechanise cargo handling operations and shore up efficiencies.

Iron ore cargo

Apart from the Chennai port development, the recent lifting of ban on iron ore exports by Karnataka Government is also seen as another source of additional cargo for Krishnapatnam. “As of now there has been no diversion of cargo from Chennai port, but we may see some volumes from that port coming to us,” a senior official of the port told Business Line.

The Madras High Court has given Chennai port four months to shift coal and iron ore operations to Ennore port. Chennai handles about 12 mt of iron ore and eight mt of coal annually.

For Krishnapatnam port, both these cargoes will be the mainstay of its cargo basket, with new dedicated coal and iron ore berths being lined up. The port, which has five multi-purpose berths with a draft of about 15 m, handles a little over 16 million tonnes, as against the phase-I installed capacity of 25 m.

Phase II expansion

The port is quickening completion of the phase-II expansion so as to wrap it up by early 2012. Under this phase, the port is constructing seven additional ports and mechanised cargo handling system with eleven cargo-wise dedicated railway sidings inside the port. This will be increasing its installed capacity to 45 mt.

“After this phase, the port will have six dedicated coal berths with two ship un-loaders at each berth and a conveyor system with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per hour. The draft is also being increased to 20 m by the end of this fiscal,” the port official said

As it is, the port is expected to see a greater rush of coal traffic, with a total of 14,000 MW of power projects coming up with a 10 km radius—these include Reliance's 4,000-MW unit and APGenco's

1,600-MW plant. “These projects alone will require coal of over 60 mt per annum,” the official said.

Chennai Port Trust seeks review of High Court order:

Shipping Minister had said that the dusty cargoes should be moved out to create a healthy living atmosphere in and around Chennai Port, but the Shipping Secretary was against it as it would put the lives of 800 workers in jeopardy.

Talking to The Hindu, a ChPT official said: “About 800 workers are engaged in coal and iron ore operations. A decision to move out these cargoes would render them jobless as Ennore Port cannot absorb everyone and it is also not ready to handle these cargoes. Moreover, ChPT cannot offer jobs to all as the container terminals have been privatised. Trade unions will also jump into the fray to file similar review petition to protect its workers.”

Chennai port to attract more pollution free-cargo for revenueOct 4, 2011,

CHENNAI: It is time for the Chennai Port Trust to look at ways to attract fresh cargo and maintain the revenue inflow. Coal-handling operations, a mainstay of the port, were stopped on October 1 following the Madras high court order in May asking that the operations be shifted to Ennore port.

Chennai Port Trust chairman Atulya Mishra, however, said a review petition seeking a stay on continuing coal-handling operations had been filed. "As Ennore is yet to be ready for handling coal, the operations need to be maintained here. We expect a favourable verdict from the court. Otherwise, we will have to try and attract new cargo and trade," he said.

The operations were ordered to be shifted to Ennore port after several petitions were filled by residential associations in Tondiarpet and Royapuram. Later, the court also took suo motu notice of the pollution caused by coal and iron ore handling at the port.

Madras Port Trust Employees Union general secretary G M Krishnamurthy said coal-handling should remain at Chennai. "It was a major source of revenue and the livelihood of nearly 2,000 employees directly involved in the operations. Simultaneously, steps should be taken to attract dust-free cargo that was forced to leave Chennai," he added.

With most of the cargo and consignments being handled by private terminals, coal handling was the only operation directly under the Chennai port. The management estimates it will face a financial burden of Rs 214 crore if it retains nearly 1,500 employees who were engaged at the coal-handling facility.

The employees union also wants operations of Container Freight Stations (CFS) to be started inside the port. "Currently, containers are taken to different CFSs in north Chennai, leading to traffic congestion and delays in export-import operations. We have trained men and all those who were into coal handling can be used for operating these stations. Starting CFSs inside the port will help ensure smooth cargo operations and also bring in revenue," said Krishnamurthy.

A section of the management is reportedly not happy with the decision to go for a review petition in the HC instead of an appeal in the Supreme Court. The Ennore Port, 20 km away, shares 50% of the revenue with Chennai Port Trust. "We are not able to take up coal-handling operations currently as it needs more infrastructure and rail connectivity," said a senior Ennore Port official.

Shift coal handling to Ennore, HC tells portMay 12, 2011, 03.05am IST

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Wednesday directed the Union shipping ministry not to dump and handle dusty cargo like coal and iron ore at the Chennai port. Handling of such cargo should be shifted to Ennore port from October 1, 2011 to prevent pollution in north Chennai, the court said.

The court passed the order considering that the area where the Ennore Port is situated is not a residential locality and that facilities to handle coal and iron ore at Ennore Port would be ready by September this year.

The court also directed the authorities to "see that not even a single employee is retrenched or made to lose his livelihood because of the distribution of cargoes between Ennore port and Chennai port."

Referring to an article published in The Times of India on March 16, 2011 on the pollution caused by the port's coal yard, the bench comprising justices Elipe Dharma Rao and M Venugopal, observed: "We, as the judges of this charteredhigh court situated in the proximity of Chennai port, are the direct witnesses, rather victims, of this pollution along with the residents of the entire stretch of Chennai port."

The bench also noted, "One cannot walk barefooted or touch the walls of this high court, in spite of regular cleaning of the premises, as the iron ore/coal

dust particles settling in the premises in high quantities every day would make hands and foot dirty in thick black colour.

It naturally sends shockwaves through the nerves and makes one to think as to what we are breathing in – oxygen or these black particles?"

Stating that the Chennai port trust had not taken any appreciable step towards arresting the pollution and no industry had any right to destroy ecology and pose a health hazard, the bench said: "Right to life is not confined to mere physical or animal existence, but includes the right to every limb or faculty through which life is enjoyed."

Rejecting the contention of the Chennai Port Trust that shifting of coal and iron ore handling would affect its business, the bench said it was not acceptable since the distance between the Chennai and Ennore ports was only 20 km.

"Since the coal terminal, iron ore terminal and the single line rail connectivity at Ennore port are assured to be operational to their full capacity by September 2011, the central government and the state government are directed to see that all the dusty cargoes like coal and iron ore should move only to Ennore port on and from October 1, 2011 and not to Chennai port," the bench held.

The court order came on the petitions filed by Avoor Muthaiah Maistry Street Residents Welfare Association in Tondiarpet, Royapuram Residents Welfare Associations and Madras High Court Practising Advocates Association. The high court had also taken suo motu the issue of pollution caused by coal and iron ore handling at Chennai port.

Order to shift coal handling puts port in a spotMay 13, 2011, 12.00am IST

CHENNAI: A day after the Madras high court ordered the shifting of coal and iron ore handling operations from the Chennai port to the Ennore port, sources in both ports expressed concern over the practical difficulties in implementing it. A senior port official said they could go in for an appeal as the shifting would affect the Chennai port's revenue.

Although Chennai port, a major stakeholder in the Ennore port, will get 50% of the revenue generated there, its employees blame the authorities for not bothering to ensure pollution-free coal handling operations at Chennai port. "Though the high court order insists that the authorities ensure job security of port employees, we are worried about the possible job losses in the near future. The port authorities are to be blamed for not taking action despite several reminders from the high court and other

government bodies," said a Chennai Port Trust employee. "The port is going to lose a major source of revenue and the authorities should be answerable," he said.

Chennai Port Trust chairman Atulya Mishra said they would proceed further after studying the court order.

Most of the cargo and consignments are handled by private container terminals at the Chennai port and coal handling was the only operation directly under the control of the port trust.

A senior Ennore port official said it was practically impossible to take over coal operations in a couple of months. "We are yet to establish connectivity and other facilities. We need to develop rail routes for the operations. We have been planning for this shift but never expected an immediate takeover," he said. The Ennore port management was yet to respond officially to the court order, he said.

On the other hand, experts say the shifting of operations from the Chennai port is a necessity considering the population density in the surrounding areas. They also point out that the Ennore port and the Krishnapatnam port, nearly 200km from city, could take over a number of operations from the Chennai port, making the latter pollution-free. The Ennore port will soon commission a mega container terminal to suit most modern vessel operations.

The high court on Wednesday directed the Union shipping ministry to ensure that the Chennai port did not handle dusty cargo like coal and iron ore and that these operations are shifted to Ennore port by October 1, following complaints of pollution from North Chennai residents.

“Chennai port will lose as much as 18 million tonnes (mt) of cargo a year, resulting in a revenue loss of

about Rs. 240 crore if the court order to stop handling coal and iron ore is implemented,” the second

official said. Customers using Chennai port to ship coal and iron ore have agreed to join the SLP, he

added.

In its review petition, Chennai port had argued that it was not possible to shift some 1,500 employees

involved in handling coal and iron ore to Ennore port, as was directed by the court in the May verdict.

“Chennai port has a very large workforce,” said Suresh Amirapu, managing director of Chennai-based

port consultancy firm Portman India Pvt. Ltd. “What will happen to the workers if the cargo doesn’t

come... Where will Chennai port earn money to pay for these workers?”

Besides, Chennai port has set up infrastructure and berths to handle coal and iron ore. “The port will

find it difficult to substitute coal and iron ore with other cargo immediately. That’s why the port is keen

to hold on to these cargo,” he added.

Between April and October, cargo handled at Chennai port fell 9.58% to 33.38 mt from 36.91 mt a year

earlier. The decline was led by iron ore with the port loading a paltry 51,000 tonnes of the steel-

making commodity in that period, compared with 2 mt a year earlier. Iron ore shipments through

Chennai port have been hit by the ban on the export of the commodity by Karnataka, India’s second

biggest producer, since July 2010.

Ennore port to raise Rs 1000 cr through tax-free bonds

Ennore Port Ltd, country's first corporate port, is planning to raise around Rs 1,000 crore through

tax-free bonds to support its expansion and infrastructure development.

S Velumani, chairman and managing director, Ennore Port, said, "we had approached the shipping

ministry to raise the money through tax-free bonds and it, in turn, had asked the finance ministry's

nod and the Central Board of Direct Taxes".

On the initial public offering plan, he said, "for now we will stick to tax-free bonds. IPO will be

considered after the mega container terminal goes on stream, which will give better valuation for the

port." Thus, it would looking at going public by 2014.

The port had earlier planned to dilute 10 per cent to raise Rs 400-500 crore, but this was delayed

citing poor market condition. The proposed fund would support various infrastructure projects to the

tune of Rs 1,500 crore, said Velumani. Earlier the shipping ministry officials said this in turn would

bring in Rs 6,500 crore. The port has lined up 14 projects worth Rs 6,466 crore. These include three

dredging projects, seven terminals and four connectivity rail and road projects.

He said though major portion of the investment would come from private players, it had to invest in

creating infrastructure like dredging and connectivity. The port in its master plan in 2008 had

proposed marine liquid terminal – I, coal terminal for non-TNEB coal, iron ore terminal, container

terminal-Phase-1, LNG terminal, car export terminal, deepening the port to handle cape size vessels

(150,000 DWT).

Again in 2010, it was decided to have additional coal berths, second and third container terminals,

and a second marine liquid terminal. With this, it is envisaged that the port will be able to handle an

annual traffic of 126 million tonnes and 200,000 cars.

Located 30 km from Chennai port, it was set up under the Companies Act keeping it outside the

scope of the Tariff Authority for Major Ports, the tariff regulator for 11 of the 12 ports owned by the

government. It was set up primarily to handle cargo such as iron ore and coal, when it started

operations nine years ago.

Chennai port getting ready to shift coal, iron to Ennore

Chennai, July 22: 

The Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) is getting ready to possibly move coal and iron ore to the nearby Ennore Port following a direction from the Madras High Court.

There was enough indication of this shift even as the Shipping Minister, Mr G.K. Vasan, asking the ChPT officials to chalk out a strategy to improve the traffic at the port in the context of a possible shifting of the two cargoes to Ennore.

The strategy was discussed in detail and the potential for alternative cargoes was also assessed. The Minister reviewed the impact of the judgement on the future of Chennai port, according to a ChPT press release.

Step up marketing efforts

The Madras High Court had directed the ChPT to move dusty cargo to Ennore from October 1.

In fact, in a review meeting at Ennore Port Ltd (EPL), Mr Vasan asked officials to step up marketing efforts to attract coal that is being shifted from Chennai port. The Minister also advised the ChPT evolving of a strategy to counter the challenges faced by the ports from the neighbouring Government and private ports. Reviewing the performance of Chennai port with the Chairman and senior ChPT officials, Mr Vasan fixed specific deadlines for all the development projects and directed the Chennai and Ennore port officials to adhere to the deadlines.

He also directed that humanitarian assistance should be given by Chennai port to the crew of OSM Arena, the abandoned ship lying at outer anchorage, the release says.

The Minister reviewed major development projects proposed by the ChPT during the current financial year and the entire Plan period. These included projects being implemented through the public private partnership route such as mega container terminal; Rajiv Gandhi dry port at Mappedu, ro-ro berth and multilevel car park and a barge jetty.

Road connectivity projects

Mr Vasan also held a joint review of the Chennai Ennore Port connectivity project and elevated four lane link road from the port to Maduravoyal with the stakeholders - the ChPT, Ennore Port Ltd, National Highways Authority of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu. Mr Vasan took stock of the proposed LNG terminal being planned to be set up at Ennore port.

He emphasised the importance of this project for Tamil Nadu and directed that EPL should pursue the project closely with Indian Oil Corporation, according to an official release.

Coal handling: Chennai port's loss is Ennore's gain

Chennai, Jan. 18: 

Chennai port's loss was Ennore port's gain with coal handling moving away from Chennai to Ennore in the last nine months.

This was the most significant trend observed in cargo handling among the country's major ports in the first nine months of the current financial year – a period which witnessed a flat growth rate in cargo traffic when compared to previous year.

The country's major ports managed a 0.38 per cent increase in cargo handling to 418 million tonne from April to December 2011 when compared to 416 million tonne in the same period last year.

A 19.44 per cent drop in iron ore handling was one of the main reasons for the flat growth. The ban on exports of iron ore by the Karnataka Government continues to bother ports such as Chennai, said a Chennai Port Trust official.

Ennore port's gain

The shift in coal to Ennore also coincides with the order of the Madras High Court to shift coal to Ennore from Chennai last year.

The Ennore port handled an additional 24 lakh tonne of thermal coal in the first nine months when compared with the same period last year.

Similarly, the port handled 2.51 lakh tonne of coking coal while it was nil in the previous year.

On the contrary, the Chennai port lost nearly 4 lakh tonne of thermal coal in the first nine months and nearly 1.4 lakh tonne of coking coal, according to the latest data by the Indian Ports Association.

Due to the 38 per cent increase in handling of thermal coal, the Ennore port recorded the highest growth rate among all the ports of 42.69 per cent.

On the other hand, the Chennai port suffered 8.35 per cent decline in cargo handling due to drop in poor coal handling in the period under review.

Ennore Port sets 16 million tonne cargo-handling target for 2012-13 news

Thursday, 01 March 2012 | 16:30

Ennore Port Ltd (EPL) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of shipping setting out enhanced performance targets for the year 2012-13.The MoU for 2012-13 has enhanced both physical and financial targets for the company. The cargo throughput target has been set at 16 million tonnes and gross sales have been put at Rs210 crore for 'excellent grade'. EPL chairman and managing director S Velumani and secretary, ministry of shipping, K Mohandas signed the MoU in New Delhi today.Ennore Port Limited, a mini-Ratna Category-I PSU has the distinction of being the only corporate port under the ministry of shipping. Functioning on a landlord model, the port has developed bulk handling terminals like coal, iron ore and liquid cargo on BOT basis through PPP. The port has been emerging as a major centre for export of automobiles.The MoU targets of EPL were finalised on 16 February 2012 after discussion with the high level task force of the department of public enterprises (DPE). The targets are based on guidelines with respect to corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, research and development and human resource management. Ennore Port has incorporated all these guidelines in its MoU parameters.The MoU task force also assessed current year performance of EPL for fixing performance targets in respect of various financial and physical parameters.Having a paid-up equity of Rs300 crore, against the authorised capital of Rs500 crore, Ennore Port has been consistently a profit making company and has paid a dividend of Rs7.41 crore to the Government of India and Rs3.71 crore to Chennai Port Trust, its two shareholders, for the year 2010-11.EPL has been signing MoU with the government since 2006-07 and its performance vis-a-vis the MoU target has been 'excellent' throughout since 2007-08.

India: Private ports are running away with the loads

Sunday, 11 March 2012 | 00:00

Clearly, private ports are winning this race hands down. The facts are there for all to see. In April-December 2011, the smaller ports notched up a double-digit growth in volume tonnages whereas the 12 major ones are nowhere near the picture as they struggled to churn out a dismal 0.38%.This mismatch in growth figures between private and major ports continues to get accentuated with every passing quarter. The assessment of the Indian Ports Association (IPA) is equally grim and scary - volumes at these major locations had at one point even suffered a degrowth.It may easily tempt you to put it down to the slowing economy and the surrounding uncertainties which you feel could have led to the slowdown in port traffic. But the irony is the argument doesn’t hold in the case of private ports, which have so far managed to buck the trend.According to data available for the past two financial years, four minor ports — Essar Ports, Mundra, Gujarat Pipavav and Karaikal — are way ahead in performance parameters compared with their public sector peers.Let’s start with Adani-controlled Mundra Port in Gujarat, whose volume grew 33% to 16.6 million tonne in the December quarter from 12.5 million tonne in April-June 2010. Considering that the base is reasonably larger than Pipavav’s, the showing is truly impressive.Similarly, Mundra port handled 51.2 million tonne for April-March 2011. With the total volume handled in April-December 2011 at 48.4 million tonne, the port is most likely to get past its last year’s numbers by a huge margin.APM Terminal-controlled Gujarat Pipavav is cruising, too. In the last two years, container volumes have climbed a mind-numbing 90%. The total container volumes handled in 2011 was 6,10,243 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), up from 3,21,400 TEU in 2009. On the bulk front though, Pipavav’s growth has been marginally lower.Down south, volumes for the Tamil-Nadu based Karaikal port have almost doubled. The specifics are not available in the public domain, but insiders revealed that the increase has been a staggering 197%. The port handled 1.67 million tonne in terms of volumes in the fiscal year ended March 2010 and 4.75 million tonne last fiscal.The corresponding figures for Essar port are not available for comparison, but by all accounts, the private venture looks poised for a solid growth this fiscal. The total volume handled was 39.55 million tonne last financial year and for April- December 2011, the number came in at around 30.87 million tonne.Major ports just pale in comparison. Last fiscal, the growth rate in total volumes at all 12 major ports stood at a measly 1.57% y-o-y. IPA data showed that the volume growth for April-February 2012 has been negative at -0.74%.To make things worse, individual performance of two main ports in the country is far from satisfactory. Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the busiest container port in the country, grew 5.82% y-o-y in volumes last fiscal.For April-February 2012, the rate is much lower at 3%. Similarly, Kandla port, the country’s largest port in terms of volumes handled, has slowed. While for the last financial year, the port reported a 3% y-o-y growth in volumes, it has been languishing at 1% for April- February 2012.The bottomline is the momentum seems to lie with the private ports as these have been aggressively ramping up their capacity and improving evacuation measures. In contrast, major ports have given a poor account of themselves by failing to step up. Though the shipping ministry has drawn up ambitious measures under the 11th Five Year Plan, nothing much has seen the light of day. The ministry had set a target of awarding 23 projects this fiscal, in reality it has managed to award only two - one, the dry

bulk terminal project at Kandla and the other, JNPT fourth container terminal project.As if this slackness is not enough, the fourth container terminal work continues to be bogged down by controversies. The PSA-ABG consortium, which was awarded the project in September, is still to sign on the dotted line. The group has raised several issues related to stamp duty payable on the agreement. The Kandla dry-bulk terminal would be developed by Adani Port and SEZ.Availability of deeper drafts, swift strategic tie-ups with major global shipping lines, faster evacuation facilities on the land side through better rail connectivity are some of the other factors that are providing the upthrust for the private ports. To be fair enough, the major ones have been trying hard to address these issues, but sadly most of these plans are running much behind schedule.

1. On an average, port traffic grew at ~ 7.66 per cent between 2005-06 & 2010-11. More specifically, nonmajor ports registered a double-digit growth at 13.55 per cent as against 5.37% per cent growth in traffic at major ports. POL, iron ore, and coal constitute a major chunk of traffic at both major and non-major ports.

2. While Kandla port in Gujarat accounted for the highest share (~14 per cent) in major port traffic, non-major ports under the Gujarat Maritime Board collectively boasted the maximum minor port traffic (~71 per cent).

3. As per the latest statistics (2009-10), around 8 of the 12 major ports are operating at more than optimum range

of 70-75 per cent utilisation. Further, four of these, namely, Vizag, Tuticorin, Mormugao, & Mumbai ports are experiencing more than 100 per cent utilization. Correspondingly, the average capacity utilization at non-major ports was ~ 77 per cent in 2009-10.