Our Bureau

Kolkata , Feb. 15

CONTAINER Corporation of India (Concor) is likely to end this fiscal with an estimated traffic throughput of 1.75/1.8 million TEUs against a little less than 1.6 million TEUs in 2003-04. More than 70 per cent of the incremental traffic will be on account of international trade, according to informed sources.

Last year, the export-import traffic was 1.25 million TEUs.

An important feature of this year's traffic flow has been the significant growth of throughputs, at Mundra and Pipavav ports, in Gujarat, largely due to the diversion of traffic from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

Last year, Concor operated on an average 11.5 rakes a day to Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal of the JNPT; the figure this year has dropped to 9.5 rakes a day.

Last year, the movement to Mundra and Pipavav ports was negligible. This year, on an average, 2.5 rakes a day was being run by Concor operated to these two ports. However, in terms of number of containers handled, JNPT, it is felt, will ultimately maintain the last year's figure.

It might be noted that P&O is active at Mundra and Maersk at Pipavav. More important, the rail connectivity to these ports has improved.

For example, PRCL, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) floated jointly by the Indian Railways, Pipavav and others, on completing the conversion of the 300-km long metre gauge route into broad gauge between Surendranagar and Pipavav, has started attracting rakes directly from Concor's inland container depots in north India to Pipavav port.

Similarly, Kutch Railway Corporation, a SPV floated by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, Kandla port and Mundra port, among others, is to convert the 300-km long metre gauge route between Gandhidham and Palanpur and once the work is completed, the distance between Delhi and Mundra will be reduced by 130 km or so to provide bigger boost to traffic flow.

The throughput at Visakhapatnam port's container terminal has been on the rise, about 1,000 TEUs so far, but almost entirely imports. Chennai port's container terminal, run by P&O, too, it is felt, will maintain its throughput at the last year's level despite disruption of work due to strained industrial relations.

On the domestic front, there has been a jump in the movement of cement from Jabalapur area in Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The throughputs of the Concor's ICDs at Dadri, Tughalakabad and Sabarmati too are on the rise.

For example, the throughput at Dadri is estimated at 6,000 TEUs per month.

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