Mundra Port on the verge of becoming the largest in the country

Mundra Port on the verge of becoming the largest in the  country

Capable of handling the biggest of vessels

The Port of Mundra, located in Kutch district of Gujarat, lies on the northern shores of Gulf of Kutch. Incorporated in 1998 as Gujarat Adani Port Ltd (GAPL), it has grown by leaps and bounds. No one would have visualised that Mundra Port would one day be on the verge of becoming the largest port in the country, highlighted a release.

In all probability, the port should cross 100 million tonnes of throughput in the current fiscal.

The Port received its first ship MT Alpha-2, a small tanker on October 7, 1998. Since then, it has gone on to set new benchmarks in the Indian port sector. The port today handles the largest ships of all types which can call at any port in the world. History was made on June 4, 2013 when M.V. MSC Valeria, a 366-m long vessel having capacity of 14,036 TEUs berthed at Mundra. It was the largest container vessel to call any port in the country. Other ports have still not handled a ship of over 9,000 TEUs, according to the release. 11,660-TEU container vessels such as M. V. MSC IVANA are now making Mundra their regular port of call.

No other port in the country today handles Capesize vessels of 18 m draught, loaded VLCCs drawing 21 m draught, container vessels drawing 15.1 m draught and RoRo vessels of 230 m length, the release emphasised.

Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd aims at becoming the most preferred port for cargo bound for or originating from the northern and western hinterlands of India. At Mundra Port, the berths wait for ships as against vessels waiting for berths which is the case at most ports in the country.

APSEZL is committed to the development, operation and management of world class port infrastructure so that Indian trade and industry can compete globally on an even playing field, the release stressed.

Source : Exim News Service - Mundra, Jan. 21