Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port announced that it has handled 65.66 million tonnes of cargo in the 2022-23 financial year, up by 12.87 per cent. It clocked a net surplus (profit) of Rs 304 crore in FY’23, increasing by over 152 per cent from Rs 120 crore in the previous fiscal.
The port also said a long-awaited trial run to Sittwe Port in Myanmar will be conducted in April with a cargo of 3,000 tonnes of cement.
The initiative is part of Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project.
The objective of the project is to provide alternative connectivity to the North East region from Kolkata port through Sittwe Port up to Paletwa in Myanmar by waterway and Paletwa to Zorinpui by road in Mizoram.
SMP Chairman P L Haranadh attributed the net surplus growth to higher cargo handling, cost-cut measures and reduction in the requirement for contribution to the pension shortfall fund.
He also said that provisioning for the pension liability shortfall has been met according to the mandate.
“SMP has exceeded the ministry’s target of 61 million tonnes. Our ranking improved by one notch to fifth among all the major ports of the country,” he said.
The port is giving thrust to the PPP projects in a big way as it moves towards an asset-light model, he said.
The authorities term it as a landlord model where operational capex (capital expenditure) will come from the private sector in cargo handling, and the port will earn a royalty.
SMP Deputy Chairman (Haldia) A K Mehra said, “Over 80 per cent of our revenue will be through this model by 2030 from about 10 per cent now. But the port will continue to retain marine operations.”
The port has undertaken several projects to augment capacity and reduces congestion in the city.
The chairman said, “We have drawn plans to increase the cumulative capacity to 110 million tonnes from 87 million tonnes now.”
During the 2022-23 financial year, the port has awarded three major projects with an investment of Rs 730 crore through PPP mode.
These three projects are expected to increase capacity by 6.7 million tonnes, he said.
The authorities also decided to revive three unused GR jetties outside the lock gate of the Kolkata Dock System where an existing IWAI (Inland Waterways Authority of India) jetty will be merged to help augment the capacity of the port.
The development of an extended port gate system at Balagarh with an investment of around Rs 450 crore is already under progress, the official said.
The SMP authorities have also sought expressions of interest for developing a multi-modal logistic terminal on around 60 acres of land, which is only 2 km from the Kolkata Dock, to facilitate warehousing, cold storage, truck terminal, rail and road connectivity.
The night navigation of the vessels to and from the Kolkata Dock System will begin in August, Kolkata Dock System Deputy Chairman Samrat Rahi said.
In a joint collaboration with Antwerp Port of Belgium and IIT Chennai, the facility will start initially for small vessels up to 100 metres and for all ships by March 2024, he added.
