The Port Department has received a sum of ₹ 12.86 crore as a concession fee and land lease charges from the Karaikal Private Port Limited (KPPL) as revenue for the financial year 2023-24.
The department received the sum as part of the concession agreement signed between the Puducherry government and KPPL at the time of setting up the all-weather deep water port on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis in Karaikal, in 2009.
An official press release said the sum received included ₹5. 04 crore as fees for the third quarter of 2023-24. The present cargo handling capacity of the port with five operational berths is 16. 5 million metric tonnes per annum. The port mainly handles, coal, thermal coal, steam coal, lime stone, fertiliser, edible oil, crude oil and steel blooms, the release said.
Since the port commenced operations, it has handled 98.42 million tonnes of cargo. The revenue realised by the Port Department in the form of concession and lease fees till 2023, amounted to ₹ 114.61 crore, the release from the Port Department said.
“Revenue earned through such projects add an extra source of income other than yjr budgeted amount. It helps in revenue mobilisation,” the release said.
