After witnessing a downward trend for three years in a row, the Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) is back on a revival path.
For the year ended March 2015, ChPT handled 52.54 million tonnes of cargo against 51 million tonnes for the corresponding period last year. The Shipping Ministry had fixed a target of 54 million tonnes for 2014-15, and the current year target is set at 62 million tonnes.
Chairman Mr. Atulya Misra said: “We are on a revival path. Things are looking up. We have posted a cash profit of Rs.4-5 crore for 2014-15 and operating profit of Rs.50 crore. After three years of downslide, we registered 2.6 per cent growth in cargo.”
“This is a tremendous achievement given the fact that coal has moved to other ports. Car manufacturers, too, have started shipping from Kamarajar Port,” he said. The Port faced hardship ever since the Madras High Court banned it from handling coal and iron ore. Coal and iron ore were the major revenue earners for the port. The port was prohibited from handling these since October 2011 as they created pollution and affected normal lives.
According to Mr. Misra, the Supreme Court has asked ChPT to submit a plan of action within six weeks on how it can achieve zero-pollution while handling dusty cargoes. “Goa Port has demonstrated that dusty cargoes can be handled without harming the environment. We will study it and present our report,” Mr. Misra said.
Kamarajar Port has crossed the MoU’s target of 28.50 million tonnes for 2014-15 and closed at 30.25 million tonnes. Krishnapatnam Port touched 40.72 million tonnes against 25 million tonnes handled in the previous year. Karaikal Port handled 4.87 million tonnes.
