Krishnapatnam Port hopes to handle more cargo this year

State-of-the-art container terminal dedicated to the nation

A view of Krishnapatnam Port

Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL) is hopeful of handling over 30 million tonnes of cargo during the current financial year, with imported coal constituting the major chunk.

It handled 21.2 million tonnes during 2012-13, including 16 million tonnes of imported coal. It hopes that the trend will continue this year too. The company’s revenues, which stood at Rs.630 crore during the previous fiscal, are expected to cross Rs.930 crore, registering over 40 per cent growth.

“We anticipate about 40-50 per cent growth during the current year with cargo set to cross 30 million tonnes during the current year. Coal alone accounted for about 22 million tonnes,” Krishnapatnam Port chief executive officer Anil Yendluri said.

Mr. Anil said the company could achieve the growth in spite of significant drop in iron ore exports that came to almost zero. “Things are not very clear as of now,” he said when asked about the likely contribution of iron ore exports during the current fiscal.

He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of dedication of state-of-the-art Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal to the nation by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. The company planned to develop the port with an estimated investment of Rs.17,000 crore of which Rs.7,300 crore had already been invested in two phases, including Rs.900 crore on other equipment.

The funds for expansion of the port had been arranged through debt and equity with a consortium of bankers financing the required resources. Ït is too early to comment,” he said when asked about the plans for opting for an initial public offering (IPO). Once completed, the port would be equipped with 42 berths capable of handling 200 million tonnes of cargo including 6 million TEU through the container terminal. Once completed, the facility will be bigger than the top two ports put together,” he said.

Asked about the plans for the container terminal, he said it was in a nascent stage and capable of handling 20,000 TEUs. “But, we are expecting significant growth in volumes as imports continue to be on the rise,” he said.

In addition to Andhra Pradesh, the KPCT, currently with 11 berths, was looking at catering to the cargo needs of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka as well as northern States owing to its strategic location.

Replying to queries, Mr. Anilsaid KPCL was against the facility being looked at as destination to handle spill-overs. The port infrastructure should be looked at as an entity with its own intrinsic features capable of handling bulk cargo.