Essar Ports commissions 16 MMTPA terminal at Paradip Port

Essar Ports Limited has commissioned its 16 million tonne per annum (MTPA) dry bulk terminal at Paradip, taking the aggregate handling capacity of Essar Ports Limited to 104 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

The project involved the upgradation and mechanisation of the existing 230m-long CQ3 berth at Paradip with installation of a fully mechanised 5,000-tonne-per-hour ship loading system, Essar Ports said in a release.

It is an all-weather terminal with a capability to handle large size ships. The terminal is connected to the stockyard by a 9km-long conveyor system having a capacity of 5,000 tonneds per hour. The stockyard has been equipped with 2 reclaimers, each of 2,500 tonnes per hour capacity.

''This is our first project on the east coast of India and is a modern facility with best in class capabilities. The terminal will help achieve better handling rates, improve efficiencies with faster turn around time for ships and would benefit the Paradip Port and its customers,'' Rajiv Agarwal, managing director of Essar Ports Limited, said.

Paradip Port Trust has licence to operate the terminal till 2020 with a provision to extend the licence period by further five years.

The terminal will handle iron ore pellets for its anchor customer Essar Steel, which has commissioned a pellet plant of 6 MTPA and is in advanced stages of construction of the second unit of 6 MTPA, taking the total pelletisation capacity to 12 MTPA. The terminal could also be used for the movement of other dry bulk cargos.