News Excerpt:

The Paradip Port in Odisha has become the highest cargo handling major port of the country in the financial year 2023-24 beating the Deendayal Port, Kandla, Gujarat.

More about the News:

• The Paradip Port has recorded a growth of 10.02 million metric tonnes (7.4 per cent) of traffic on a year-on-year basis, according to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping And Waterways and the Pradip Port Authority (PPA).
• The port has broken the previous record set by  Deendayal Port, Kandla 16 years back.
• The Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla has been holding the top position in cargo handling among the 12 major ports for the last 16 years. 
• For the last 4-5 years, Kandla was No. 1 and Paradip was No. 2, with the difference between them hardly 1-2 million tonnes.

Paradip Port:

• Paradip was the first major port commissioned on India’s eastern coast after independence.
• It is located near the Confluence of the river Mahanadi and the Bay of Bengal in Odisha.

• Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the port on January 3, 1962, and it was inaugurated in 1966. The Port serves Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal apart from Odisha. 

Latest Data from the Paradip Port:

• The Paradip Port currently can handle 289.75 MMT of cargo. 
• During the last financial year, the Paradip port also achieved the highest-ever coastal shipping traffic of 59.19 million metric tonnes, with a growth of 0.76 million metric tonnes.
• The thermal coal coastal shipping has reached 43.97 million metric tonnes.
• The Paradip Port was also able to improve its berth productivity to 33,014 MMT from 31,050 MMT in the previous financial year. 
• Berth productivity is defined as the number of container moves per ship per hour on all vessel sizes. It is the major determinant of port efficiency.
• This has reduced the idle time between rake unloading and resulted in the highest handling of thermal coal.

Recent initiatives of Paradip Port:

• The increased performance in cargo handling has been driven by various system improvement measures undertaken by the port during the financial year, which include an improved system of operation at a Mechanized Coal Handling Plant (MCHP).
• It helped reduce the idle time between rake unloading and has resulted in the highest handling of thermal coal at MCHP i.e. 27.12 million metric tonnes.
• Paradip Port has frozen its tariff for cargo handling at the level of 2022 for the next 3 years as a part of its business development initiatives. 
• Paradip Port is the cheapest in terms of tariff among all the ports of the country.
• The Paradip Port Authority has also taken steps to promote green technologies and sustainable development. 
• The port has planted 2 lakh saplings in the last year and is expected to reach 10 lakh tree plantations by 2025. 
• The port has also planned to develop a 10 MW solar power plant to power the operations of the port, making it the first port in the country to run on 100% renewable energy.
• The Port is also aiming to develop one exclusive berth for handling green ammonia/green hydrogen thus becoming the hydrogen hub port of the country.
• The Port is developing an ultramodern signal station with the latest vessel traffic management information system in association with IIT, Chennai. 
• This will improve the vessel management and marine operations substantially, apart from improving the security.
• The Paradip Port Authority’s efforts to invest in infrastructure development and enhance operational efficiency have driven it to the top of the country in cargo handling.
• This achievement is not only limited to the growth in cargo volume, but it also reflects the port’s growing importance as a hub for coastal shipping and a key player in the country’s economic growth.