Essar Ports commissions 16-mln terminal at Paradip
Essar PortsBSE 2.32 % today said it has commissioned its 16 million tonne per annum (MTPA) dry bulk terminal at Paradip in Odisha, taking its capacity to 104 MTPA, The Times of India reports.
"The project involved the upgradation and mechanisation of the existing 230 m long berth at Paradip with installation of a fully mechanised ship loading system with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per hour," the company said in a statement.
It is an all weather terminal with a capability to handle large size ships.
The terminal will handle iron ore pellets for its anchor customer Essar SteelBSE 0.41 % which has commissioned a pellet plant of 6 MTPA and is in advanced stages of construction of the second unit of 6 MTPA taking the total capacity to 12 MTPA. The terminal would also be used by other users for the movement of their dry bulk cargos.
Commenting on the achievement, Essar Ports Managing Director Rajiv Agarwal said, "This is our first project on the east coast of India and is a modern facility with best in class capabilities. The terminal will help achieve better handling rates, improve efficiencies with faster turn-around time for ships."
Paradip Port Trust has granted a licence to operate the terminal till 2020 with a provision to extend the license period by further five years.
The terminal is connected to rail and highways besides to the stockyard by a 9 km long conveyor system having a capacity of 5,000 tonne per hour, it said.
Essar Ports, which is one of the largest domestic port companies plans to expand its capacity to 158 MTPA over the next few years from the present 104 MTPA.