There's no recession at MPT

There's no recession at MPT
Preetu Nair, TNN

PANAJI: Despite plunging global markets and an economic meltdown, Mormugao Port Trust's cargo traffic is set to touch 40 million tonnes this
financial year, above the estimated target of 37 million tonnes.

Confirming this MPT chairman Praveen Agarwal said, "This year we will set an all time record as cargo traffic at the port has gone much above what was estimated."

With just over a month to go to the end of the financial year, MPT expects to beat last year's traffic of 35.13 million tonnes and even the estimated target for the current financial year.

Sources at MPT said that recession has not affected them. "It is only getting better," sources said. MPT's traffic this financial is almost 9% of the total 519.24 million tonnes handled by the twelve major ports of India last year.

Much of the cargo has been in the form of iron ore and coal. Last year, over 27.30 million tonnes of iron ore had been exported through MPT mainly to China, Japan, Korea and some European countries. "Business picked up in December 2008 and January 2009, and iron ore exports increased, due to which traffic this financial would be almost similar to that of last year. But from April 2009, it may be a different tale altogether," said S Sridhar, executive director, Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association.

Sources said that though ore makes up the bulk of the cargo, there has been a steady increase in liquid and general cargo traffic too. Besides, iron ore, 5.29 millions tonnes of coal or coke and 1.41 million tonnes of petroleum products and other liquid cargo were exported during the last financial year. The remaining traffic consisted of fertilizers, alumina, limestone, containerized cargo, HR steel coil and steel slabs.

Container business, however, declined. "On an average, 100 to 140 containers arrive in Goa every eight days in a feeder vessel from Colombo. But due to recession, this has gone down to 30 to 50 containers per voyage for almost a month now," said Amit Kamat, president, Goa Custom House Agents Association. Last year, MPT handled about 15,000 containers.

However, sources at MPT blame this decline not just on recession, but to the insufficient number of feeder vessels calling at the port, absence of four-lane highway and insufficient railway rakes for transport. "We are trying to put these things in place and once that is done, four years from now, we will have a handling capacity of about 50,000 containers," added sources.

At present with the container traffic insufficient, there is only a feeder vessel to and from Colombo, a transhipment port. No main line vessels call at MPT.

24 Feb 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition