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With an eye on increasing profits, the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) is currently looking at various options to reduce expenditure and increase revenues. According to VPT sources, the major port in addition to revenues from cargo handling is also looking at other avenues for increasing its income in the coming year. The operating surplus of VPT for 2015-16 is Rs 365 crore as against Rs 316 crore in 2014-15.
A senior VPT official said, “We have two basic things in mind. One is increasing the revenue and the other is reducing the operating expenditure. We are looking at various ways in which we can reduce our basic operating expenditure either through outsourcing some of the services or in terms of reducing maintenance charges on our assets. One such expense that we are already reducing is in terms of electricity charges by introduction of LED lights and also the 10 mw solar power plant that is being installed in the port.”
At the same time, another official said, “Some of the crafts that are being used at the port require high-maintenance. Whether we have to condemn them and go for outsourcing the services or purchase new ones is being looked into.”
“Ultimately the shipping minister is of the view that profitability has to increase, so that we can invest these funds in infrastructure assets,” the official added.
Sources said that apart from these measures as part of its efforts to increase revenues, the major port is also looking at increasing its share of cargo in the east coast. “Several trade meetings are being organised to bring back customers to the port. Some of them had been using other ports due to various reasons during the recent years and we want to focus on bringing them back to our fold and increase our revenue,” opined another port official.
“During the last three to four years, VPT has been heading in the direction of becoming a landlord port. As part of the process, the general cargo berth, container terminal, five other berths in the inner harbour are being operated by private terminals. The private investments have helped the port in its modernisation and now the focus should be on optimising its revenues,” observed an industry source adding that unlike private ports, the major port can use these to build additional infrastructure necessary for cargo evacuation, which would be useful to the region and trade.
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