Media reports suggest that the cargo handled by Paradip port declinedalmost 1.8 mn t to 54.2 million tonne (mn t) in 2011-12 because of a fall in iron ore traffic.It is learnt that the port lost over 7 million tonne of iron ore traffic.
The port handled 56.01 mn t in 2010-11. During the year under review, the iron ore throughput was 6.55 mn t as compared to 13.85 mn t in 2010-11.
Besides this, Dhamra port snatched about 2.5 mt of coal which otherwise should come to our port. The coking coal import through the port too was lower at 5.51 mn t (6.2 mn t).
The aggregate shortfall thus was more than 10 mn t, large part of which was recovered and the net shortfall was less than 2 million tonne in the year.
This was possible because, as the Chairman explained, the throughputs of several other commodities such as crude and petroleum products, thermal coal, fertiliser, both finished and raw materials, and containers posted growth and helped PPT to recover a sizeable chunk of the traffic lost.