Date:03/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/03/stories/2007010302920500.htm

Back Mundra Port to have 16 new berths in two years

Virendra Pandit

Dedicated jetty to come up for coal import

Expansion Plans
After the expansion programme, the port would handle 50 MT of cargo annually by the year 2010.
The port currently has 8 operational jetties and 4 more would be added by mid-2007.
Mulls expanding 64-km-long private railway line that links Mundra with Adipur (Gandhidham) into a double-track line.

Mundra (Gujarat) , Jan. 2

India's largest privately-run port at Mundra will expand to have an enclosed basin with about 16 berths in the next two years and, additionally, a dedicated jetty mainly for coal import for the proposed ultra-mega power project (UMPP) to be developed by the Tatas in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), adjacent to the port off the Gulf of Kutch.

The Adani Group would invest about Rs 2,000 crore initially on this expansion programme that will enable bigger ships to enter Indian waters on the Gujarat coast. The Mundra Port will, thereafter, start handling 50 million tonnes (mt) of cargo annually by the year 2010 and 100 mt by 2015, the Mundra Port and SEZ Ltd President, Captain Sandeep Mehta, told Business Line here.

Operational Jetties

The port, being run by the Adani Group's Mundra Port and SEZ Ltd, currently has eight operational jetties and four more would be added by mid-2007. All these jetties are open to the Arabian Sea, jutting out inside the sea up to 1.5 km.

One entry

Following a study conducted on the future requirements, the company has now decided to add an enclosed basin with about 16 new berths in the next couple of years. These would not be open to the sea and the vessels would have only one entry with a minimum draft of 17 meters, Mr M.K. Padia, Senior Vice-President, said.

In order to develop the basin, the company will undertake dredging along the coast. The enclosed basin would provide better operational convenience in the long run, he said. A berth normally handles around 2.5 to 3 mt of cargo per annum. The four operational berths currently handle about 10 mt of cargo per annum.

With the UMPP to generate 2,000 MW of thermal power, the project's coal requirements alone will be 17 mt per annum, which would provide an assured business to the port. This cargo would be handled by a dedicated jetty to be built into the sea, beyond the basin.

Berth Occupancy

The berth occupancy at any international port should not be more than 65 per cent but Mundra has already had occupancy up to 73 per cent in the current financial year. With the cargo growth between 35 and 40 per cent per annum, the port will have to expand its facilities — the reason behind the new expansion plan.

The Mundra Port is already developing a private airstrip for mid-sized jets. It is also considering to expand its 64-km-long private railway line that links Mundra with Adipur (Gandhidham), near Kandla Port, into a double-track line.