Major ports record marginal upswing in cargo handling at 348 MT during Apr-Sept

The country's top-12 major ports have recorded a marginal 1.48 per cent upswing in cargo handling at 348.44 million tonne (MT) in the April-September period of the current financial year, according to ports' apex body IPA.

The growth at these ports, which had handled 343.37 MT cargo in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, was driven mainly by higher handling of coking coal, fertilisers and iron ore.

The 12 major ports -- Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), V.O.Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) -- handled 348.44 MT of cargo during the April-September 2019 period, according to the latest data by the Indian Ports Association (IPA).

Increased demand from various sectors including coal, fertilisers, iron ore and containers was the main reason for the growth in the traffic, IPA said.

Coking coal volumes handled by the 12 ports surged 15.25 per cent to 29.29 MT