Northwest India's smaller ports post 35pc growth

INDIA's northwestern Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) posted 34.6 per cent growth in 2009-10 of cargo volume for all its ports, handling 206 million tonnes cargo compared to 153 million tonnes in 2008-09, reports The Business Standard.

"Steering past the slowdown, Gujarat's non-major ports are reaching new heights," said GMB chief executive Pankaj Kumar.

Container traffic at Pipavav and Mundra also rose. The containers showed a 90 per cent growth in terms of tonnage at Pipavav port.

The Indian port sector was hit badly by recession last year. All non-major ports of Gujarat that are regulated by GMB posted four per cent growth in 2008-09 in terms of cargo handling.

"This was, however, higher than the national average of two per cent," said a GMB official.

The traffic at Navlakhi achieved a growth of 57 per cent, Magdalla, was up 13 per cent; Jafrabad, 16 per cent; Pipavav by 76 per cent and Mundra ports increased by 10 per cent in 2009-10, said a GMB statement.

The traffic at Navlakhi increased from 2.83 million tonnes to 4.46 million tonnes, while that at Pipavav rose from two million tonnes to 3.56 million tonnes, the release stated.

One of the main drivers of growth was Sikka port, operated by Reliance Industries. The traffic at Sikka rose from 65 million tonnes to 107 million tonnes, a growth of about 64 per cent. The new Reliance refinery at Jamnagar that added about 29 million tonnes annual refining capacity emerged the main growth driver, accounting for over 50 per cent of the cargo handled by the state's non-major ports, said an official.

(Source: www.schednet.com)