The Paradip Port in Odisha is likely to increase cargo handling to 110 million metric tonne (MMT) during the current fiscal, up from 102 MMT traffic handled last year.

“The port is expected to reach 110 MMT mark in terms of cargo handling this fiscal, exhibiting a compounded annual growth rate of 11.56%,” Chairman of Paradip Port Trust (PPT), Rinkesh Roy said.

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During 2017-18, PPT joined the exclusive club of 100 million tonne ports by handling record 102 MMT traffic, which is the second highest throughput achieved among all major ports and the third highest among all ports in India.

Roy said the port’s capacity has been rated at 277 MMTPA, making it the largest in the country, while the effective capacity has been increased to 234 MMTPA.

“Operationally, it has scaled new heights in terms of innovations and efficiency,” he said.

The Mechanised Coal Handling Plant (MCHP) has shown an improvement in efficiency by 65 per cent. It has loaded 1.32 lakh MT in single day in comparison to 1.01 lakh MT in 2014-15, the PPT Chairman said while speaking during Republic Day celebrations in the port on Saturday.

The iron ore handling plant has shown 141 per cent improvement in efficiency with net loading rate stands at 1,000 TPH, which was just 414 TPH in 2014-15, Roy said.

Noting that the Marine Department handled a record 27 vessel movements in just 20 hours, he said that for the first time, the port has discharged edible oil from MT Delfine through Mediterrnean Mooring Method without using any berth.

All time record traffic of 6.39 Lakh MTs was handled in a single day on October 14, 2018.

All time high monthly traffic of 10.18 MMT was handled during January, 2018, he said.

Stating that the port witnessed the docking of a luxury cruise liner ‘MV Silver Discoverer’ with foreign tourists on Saturday, the PPT chairman said it will boost tourism in the state.

Outlining a paradigm shift in the safety culture and practices by the Port, he said the focus for this year is to impart proper training to workers, introduction of bus services and prohibition of two wheelers and persons walking inside the Port, introduction of no standing zones in berth areas and level crossing warning systems.