Essar Ports Ltd on Monday said it will complete the expansion of its bulk cargo terminal at Hazira Port by December. The expansion, with an investment of ₹800 crore, will double the revenues from Hazira, a top company official informed.
Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd (EBTL), a special purpose vehicle set up to develop bulk cargo terminal at Hazira port near Surat, will expand from its current berth length of 550 metres by an additional 1,100 metres.
After expansion, the cargo handling capacity at the Hazira terminal will increase from existing 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 50 mtpa.
“Looking at the current situations, we expect the traffic to grow at 89 per cent from 12.7 million tonnes in fiscal 2016 to about 24 million tonnes in fiscal 2017. With the commissioning of the expansion in December this year, we will be able to double our revenues,” said Rajiv Agarwal, CEO and MD, Essar Ports Ltd.
EBTL has so far invested ₹2,400 crore for setting up a bulk cargo terminal at Hazira port, which is expected to handle 16 mtpa of iron ore, and 5.5-6 mtpa of coal or coke.
The current expansion is being funded through internal accruals. “We do not require debt to fund our expansion as the entire expansion is being funded through internal accruals,” Agarwal said.
The port has a draft of 14 metres, which allows direct berthing of largest of bulk cargo carriers. The company has dredged 8.8 kilometres long channel in the River Tapi by dredging about 80 million cubic metres till date, informed Capt Subhas Dash, CEO, EBTL.
EBTL has been granted permission from the state ports regulator, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to handle 15 million tonnes of third-party cargo over the next three-year period for coal, fertilisers and cargo.