NEW DELHI: India’s number one port in cargo traffic, Paradip Port on the east coast, is to have one million new tree saplings by 2025 as part of a massive drive to increase green cover in its vicinity.
As part of this drive to preserve the environment, fight climate change and reduce global warming, 200,000 of these saplings have already been planted, according to India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, which runs this port under an Act of Parliament.
Paradip Port broke India’s shipping records and became the highest cargo-handling port in the financial year 2023-24, which ended on 31st March, 2024. Until now, Deendayal Port in Kandla on India’s west coast was India’s number one port in cargo traffic.
P L Haranadh, Chairman of the Paradip Port Authority, congratulated the team of exporters, importers, officers and staff unions, Public-Private-Partners (PPP) at the facility, stevedores and shipping agents, ‘whose combined efforts have resulted in this stupendous achievement’.
The port clocked 14
5.38 million metric tonnes (MMT) cargo throughput in the financial year 2023-24, the highest volume in 56 years of Paradip Port’s operation.
To further enhance its performance, Paradip Port has frozen its tariff for cargo handling at the level of 2022 for the next 3 years. ‘Paradip Port is now the cheapest in terms of tariff among all the ports in India,’ it claimed in a press release.
It is now poised to cross 300 million metric tonnes in capacity in the next three years through its business development initiatives.
As part of its environment-supportive efforts, Paradip Port is building a 10 MW solar energy plant to power the port’s operations with renewable energy. The port also has on the drawing board, a green refuelling station through a liquefied natural gas and a compressed natural gas depot at the port.
Source: Emirates News Agency