Gujarat Maritime Board’s non major ports have registered a growth rate of 11.31% to 63.20 million tonnes in the Q1 of 2011-12, as against 56.84 million tonnes handled in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Traffic increased in ports like Magdalla/Hazira, Bedi, Okha, Porbandar, Navlakhi, Dahej, etc. Throughput at Magdalla/Hazira port rose from 4.32 million tonnes in April to June 2010 to 5.18 million tonnes this year.

At Dahej port, the increase was from 3.08 million tonnes to 4.31 million tonnes. Cargo handled at Navlakhi port surged from 1 million tonnes to 1.50 million tonnes during the first quarter this year compared to the previous year’s quarter.

This performance is nothing new for GMB ports. GMB has shown a distinct growth model of business through policy reforms that harnessed the state’s 1,600 km coastline. The ports achieved 12.34% annual growth in traffic in 2010-11 over the previous fiscal.

Under a proactive state government, cargo handled at Gujarat’s non major ports increased from 73 million tonnes in 2000-01 to 231 million tonnes in 2010-11, growing 12.20% annually, as compared to the national growth from 368 million tonnes in 2000-01 to 821 million tonnes in 2009-10 at a rate of 9.30%. And Gujarat maintains that lead.

According to Mr Pankaj Kumar IAS VC and CEO of GMB, Vibrant Gujarat 2011 saw proposed investments to the tune of INR 100,000 crore in the port sector, which will add significantly to capacity by 2015-16. As against the existing capacity of 284 million tonnes per annum, GMB is committed to increasing port capacity to 508 million tonnes per annum in next five years.

(Sourced from Exim News Service)