The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) has invited fresh bids for construction of two berths, the one with multipurpose facilities for handling container traffic and the other for iron ore.
According to sources, agreements for construction the two berths signed earlier were cancelled. While the PPT had inked a pact with the Blue Water Iron Ore Terminal Private limited, Hong Kong-based Nobel Group and MMTC and Gammon for the construction of the 10 million tones per annum (MTPA) deep draft iron ore berth, it had signed another agreement with Sterlite-leighton Combine for construction of the five million tones per annum (MTPA) multi-purpose berth. The cost of the iron ore berth was estimated at Rs 592 crore and that of the multi-purpose berth at Rs 388 crore.
The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) resumed handling export of agricultural products after a long gap. For the first time, rice was being exported through the port in containers. A total of 2,700 Million Tonnes (MT) of rice in bags was brought to the port in 42 wagons from Raipur, Chhattisgarh for shipment to Indonesia. Till July last, the port handled a total of 23.13 Million Tonnes (MT) of cargo, compared to16.19 Million Tonnes (MT) in the same period last fiscal.
In the first four months of the current fiscal, the highest growth was recorded in iron ore traffic which increased by 112.48 per cent, followed by thermal coal 61.86 per cent, fertiliser raw materials 28.1 per cent, Pol 20.54 per cent, coking coal 17.37 per cent and other items rose by 60 per cent.