New Delhi: Coal shipments handled by India’s 12 major ports saw a 16.28 per cent jump in the nine months ending December 2018 to 121.13 million tonne (MT), according to ports’ body IPA.
Coal shipments, comprising thermal/steam and coking coal, were up 17 per cent and 15 per cent respectively in the April-December period of the ongoing fiscal. These ports had handled 104.17 MT coal in April-December 2017.
The Indian Ports Association (IPA) said these state-run ports handled 78.24 MT of thermal/steam coal during the nine months against 66.87 MT in the year-ago period.
Thermal coal is the mainstay of India’s energy programme as 70 per cent of power generation is dependent on the dry fuel, while coking coal is used mainly for steel-making.
Paradip Port Trust in Odisha handled the highest thermal and steam coal shipments during the period at 24.39 MT, followed by Kamarajar Port (erstwhile Ennore) in Tamil Nadu at 18.17 MT and Deendayal Port Trust in Gujarat at 11.41 MT.
As regards coking coal, Kolkata port handled 14.12 MT during the period, followed by Paradip (9.45 MT) and Visakhapatnam (5.03 MT).
India is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US and has 299 billion tonnes of resources and 123 billion tonnes of proven reserves, which may last for over 100 years.
Overall, the 12 major ports recorded 3.77 per cent growth in cargo traffic during April-December 2018 at 518.64 MT.
The growth was on account of higher handling of shipments such as coal, containers and finished fertilisers.
India has 12 major ports – Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) which handle approximately 61 per cent of the country’s total cargo traffic.
PTI