Kolkata Port Trust organised its Trade Facilitation awards on June 15, 2019 where the best performers in the trade and shipping were recognised. Awards were given to the top performers at both Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex, which were presented by Mr Vinit Kumar, Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust, Mr S. Balaji Arunkumar, Deputy Chairman, Kolkata Dock System, and Mr G. Senthilvel, Deputy Chairman, Haldia Dock Complex. Mr Ek Narayan Aryal, Consul General of Nepal, graced the occasion as a special guest.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vinit Kumar congratulated all the award winners, trade partners of Kolkata’s shipping fraternity and port officials for their valuable support. Steel Authority of India and Tata Steel were awarded as the top bulk importers whereas Krishna Tissues and Vedanta Ltd were given awards as the top performing importer and exporter of containerised cargo. Leading stevedore and handling agent at Kolkata Port, Ripley and Co. and Tuberose Logistics bagged awards in their respective categories. Xpress Feeders was awarded for bringing in the maximum number of containerships. Haldia International Container Terminal won the award for the Best Container Terminal in KoPT, informed an official communiqué.
Kolkata Port Trust, including Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex, achieved the highest ever cargo throughput in FY 2018-19. Kolkata Port handled 63.7 million tonnes (mt) of cargo traffic in 2018-19 compared to 57.9 mt in 2017-18, recording an impressive growth of over 10 per cent. KoPT is now ranked the 5th largest port in terms of cargo handling among all Major Ports and is the second fastest growing port in the country, as per the release.
In container traffic, KoPT surpassed 8 lakh TEUs of cumulative handling. Kolkata Dock ended the FY with 6.51 lakh TEUs and Haldia Dock Complex contributed 1.78 lakh TEUs which resulted in Kolkata Port handling 8.29 lakh TEUs cumulatively.
The year gone by has taken the port from strength-to-strength at a time when the average growth across Major Ports is about 3 per cent. New initiatives such as calling of Capesize vessels with deployment of floating cranes at Sagar and Sandheads, large scale capacity addition in terms of increasing the cargo stacking area, and focus on quicker turnaround of vessels and faster evacuation of cargo from docks have enabled KoPT to achieve this milestone. Kolkata Port Trust, which is in its 150th year, has displayed the resilience, commitment and ability to ride out all challenges and uncertainties to serve its customers in the vast hinterland despite stiff competition, the release emphasised.
