VASCO: Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) Deputy Chairman G P Rai said that the new trend of exporting iron ore from Karnataka through the railways will boost the port’s traffic substantially. He predicted better growth during the next financial year.
In his Republic Day address at the MPA, Rai said that the port has been reeling under severe financial stress for the past several years due to the closure of mining activity. “The good news is that the Goa government has gone ahead with the e-auctioning of mines,” said Rai, adding that he hoped that export activities would start soon. In addition to this, the MPA has managed to attract new cargo like gypsum and bauxite this year, he added.
Rai said that though the MPA had been unable to achieve its financial goals during the year 2021-2022, the next fiscal year 2023-2024 will be challenging, but favourable for the growth of the port. Cruise operations, which were paralysed for two years amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, have now resumed and this year, the MPA is expecting as many as 49 cruise calls. “This trend will grow substantially over the coming years with the development of an international cruise terminal in the port,” he added.
Giving details of various ongoing infrastructure works, Rai said that the MPA is constructing a four-lane flyover for better road connectivity to the port, while the work of the 1.4-km road with direct connectivity to berth number 11, is in progress and is likely to be completed by December this year. He said that the construction of a 12-metre wide concrete road connecting berth numbers 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 to the new entry/exit gate near berth number 11 will be completed by May this year. “All the public-private partnership operators and other Port operators will largely be benefited by the direct connectivity to the four- lane flyover,” he remarked.
