MUMBAI: Piggybacking growth of third-party cargo, Essar Ports Ltd on Monday said its two projects involving more than Rs 2,800 crore investments has the potential to increase revenue by 30 per cent next fiscal.
Essar has already completed Rs 2,800 crore investment in terminal projects at Salaya in Gujarat and Vizag in Andhra Pradesh and its capacity is likely to go up to 90 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by month-end from the current 82 mtpa.
“The two fully integrated and automated facilities at Salaya and Vizag further the goal of port-led development set by the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is also a manifestation of Essar’s vision of building world-class core sector assets of national importance,” the company said.
It added that the Essar Bulk Terminal Salaya Ltd (EBTSL) recently commenced commercial operations at its 20 mt dry bulk terminal with the berthing of its first vessel.
The facility, the first deep-draft terminal in the Saurashtra region, has been designed to berth Capesize vessels with a vessel turnaround time of less than two days, thus offering a competitive advantage to the local industry.
The Salaya terminal, which has been built at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore, is expected to emerge as the most-preferred deep draft port destination for shipment of dry bulk cargo in the Saurashtra region, it said, adding it is capable of berthing vessels of up to 100,000 tonnes DWT, while handling commodities like coal, bauxite, limestone and fertilisers.
The company said Essar Vizag Terminal Ltd (ETVL) is executing a Rs 830-crore expansion project aimed at upgrading the iron ore handling capacity of the Vizag Terminal (Outer Harbour) from 12.5 mtpa to 24 mtpa.
ETVL recently commissioned an 8,000 TPH (tonnes per hour) Ship Loader, which has increased its cargo handling rate from 70,000 TDP (tonnes per day) currently to 120,000 TPD and is expected to significantly increase revenues, Essar said.