MUMBAI: V.O. Chidambaranar Port handled an all-time record cargo traffic of 32.41 million tonnes during 2014-15, registering an increase of 13.17 per cent over the previous year’s volume of 28.64 million tonnes, according to Chairman of VOC Port Trust S. Anantha Chandra Bose.
This was 1.28 per cent higher than the target of 32 million tonnes set by the Ministry of Shipping, Mr. Bose said in a statement issued on Sunday.
In containers, the port handled a record throughput of 5,59,727 Twenty –Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) during 2014-15 — an increase of 10.24 per cent over the previous fiscal’s 5,07,735 TEUs.
It was 2.16 per cent higher than the target of 5,47,890 TEUs.
Imports accounted for 23.99 million tonnes, registering an increase of 14.35 per cent over the previous year’s import traffic of 20.98 million tonnes. Exports accounted for 8.42 million tonnes — a 9.78 increase over the previous year’s 7.67 million tonnes.
The port handled 8.61 million tonnes of thermal coal (29.64 per cent growth), 5.19 million tonnes of industrial coal (20.32 per cent growth), 11.03 million tonnes of containerised cargo (8.93 per cent growth), 1.21 million tonnes of copper concentrate (30.70 per cent growth), 1.05 million tonnes of fertilizer raw material (33.29 per cent growth) over the last financial year’s volumes.
On the export front, there was an increase in the volume of cargoes such as construction material, containerised cargo, granite stones, maize, caustic soda lye, machinery, iron and steel materials, the statement added.
