Increased crude throughput for Kochi refinery, higher capacity utilisation of the LNG terminal and higher volumes at the International Container Terminal are expected to help the financially troubled Cochin Port Trust to come out of the red in 2017-18.
Port Trust’s chairman in-charge A.V. Ramana told reporters here on Wednesday that with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited expanding refining capacity at Kochi from the present 9.5 million tonnes to 15.5 million tonnes, the port will earn an additional ₹120 to ₹130 core. Increased capacity utilisation at the LNG terminal operated by Petronet LNG Limited will also increase the port’s revenue. The total additional income was likely to be between ₹130 crore and ₹150 crore, he said.
The container segment has witnessed a healthy growth in the current financial year and the target is to achieve a throughput of 50,000 TEUs per month - six lakh TEUS a year. With these developments, the Port should be in ‘positive zone’ in 2017-18, said the port official. The port authority also expects significant revenue from car carriers that have begun to call at the Kochi port from 2016.
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The port had handled a total of 13.77 million tonnes of petroleum products in 2015-16. In the last financial year, the port handled a total cargo of 22.10 million tonnes. The traffic up to December 2016 stands at 18.23 million tonnes. It is expected to go up to 23 million tonnes.
Container throughput for the whole of 2015-16 was 4.20 lakh TEUs. The volume of containers up to December stands at 3.67 lakh TEUs. The volume is expected to go up to five lakh TEUs by the end of 2016-17.
As of now, the Port expects to end the current financial year on a strong note with an expected operating surplus of over ₹128 crore against the operating surplus of ₹71 crore during 2015-16.
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