Debasish Acharya
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Bhubaneswar, Dec 23: After resuming operations this month, Gopalpur Port is eyeing a cargo traffic of 35 lakh tonne by the end of March 2017, a top official of the company said. “We are hopeful to handle a cargo of 35 lakh tonne by the end of next financial year. As mines are slowly re-opening, we expect to get good traffic in the port,” MM Moharana, Director (Operations) of Gopalpur Port (GPL) said.
The port, which had to shut its operation as it was badly hit by cyclones, has started its operation this month by receiving a vessel from Sri Lanka with cargo of around 23,000 tonne of sand for Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM) – a unit of Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL). As per the port official, the company incurred a total cost of Rs 800 crore for complete revival of the port.
He also said till date, the port has handled a total cargo of 43,000 tonne and hopes to handle 4 lakh tonne by March 2016. “We expect to handle cargos of commodities like pulses, fertilizers, gypsum among others from our port,” Moharana said. On its expansion plan, Moharana said it has one berth till date with a length of 225 meter and plans to add another berth by second half of FY16-17. With the addition of the new berth, total length will increase to 535 meter.
