In India, the Port of Paradip has now established itself as the country’s largest, following the publication of recent figures. In the 2023–2024 financial year, it handled 145.38mt (million tonnes), which meant it leapfrogged Gujarat’s Port of Kandla for the very first time. There the Deendayal Port Authority had previously led the volume-handled table of all 12 major ports for the previous 16 years.
In terms of traffic, it posted record volumes of coastal shipping and thermal coal shipping. The latter amounted to 43.97mt, equivalent to growth of 4.02% compared to the previous financial year.
According to the port, its upward trend in volumes handled can be mainly attributed to improved operations at its mechanized coal plant, where dead time between the unloading of coal trains has been reduced, resulting in traffic of 27.12mt being handled there. A total of 21,665 train rakes were accommodated during the year, an increase of 7.65%
Overall berth productivity has also gone up by 6.33%, now making it the most efficient port in India.
The number of vessel calls also notably increased, by 13.82%.
Within the next three years, with the opening of the new Western Dock, traffic is expected to go north of 300mt annually. This healthy situation is, in part, due to the decision to freeze port tariffs for the next three years, making it the cheapest port in the country in which to operate. At the same time, Paradip already benefits from having a hinterland rich in mineral resources.