Essar to invest Rs 750 crore in expansion of Hazira Port

Essar Bulk Terminal will expand its bulk cargo handling capacity at Hazira Port in Gujarat state to 50 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) from existing 30 MMTPA by December 2016 at an investment of Rs 750 crore.

"The 550-metre berth of Essar Bulk Terminal Limited (EBTL) in Hazira is being expanded by a further 1,100 metres to accommodate the steady growth in cargo throughput at the port," Essar Ports said in a press release on Monday.

 After completion of the expansion process, the port will have capability of simultaneously handling seven vessels at any point of time.

"Essar Bulk Terminal is investing Rs 750 crore in the expansion project, which along with the existing investment of Rs 2,450 crore, will take the total investment in Hazira Port to Rs 3,200 crore," cited the company in a release.

Essar said on Twitter:

#Essar Bulk Terminal #Hazira capacity set to expand by 67% to 50 MTPA. Read more: https://t.co/GHUMcyOiuh pic.twitter.com/e1vd6V0Zcx

— Essar (@Essar) July 25, 2016

The company's traffic at Hazira Port for the April-June quarter that ended on June 30 this year witnessed a growth of 80% to 4.4 million metric tonnes (MT) as against 2.4 MT in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal year.

The cargo growth is backed by a ramp-up in operations by Essar Steel’s 10-million tonne plant in Hazira, it said. 

The company expects the total Hazira Port traffic to reach 24 MT in the fiscal year 2016-17 (FY17) as against 12.7 MT in the fiscal year 2015-16 (FY16).

Essar Bulk Terminal has also received permission from the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to handle 15 MT of third-party cargo over three years. 

In FY16, the port handled 0.75 MT of third-party traffic and the company expects the third-party traffic to grow to 5 MT by FY18.

Commenting on the development, Captain S Das, chief executive officer of Essar Bulk Terminal, said in a statement, “The Hazira Terminal has been integral to fulfilling the cargo handling requirement of Essar Steel plant.The expanded terminal will not only help us service the enhanced requirements of our anchor customer, but also cater to our growing volumes of third-party cargo.”