VOC Port Record handled record 282.60 lakh tonnes of cargo

TUTICORIN: VO Chidambaranar Port Trust ( VOC port) handled an all time record cargo traffic of 282.60 lakh tonnes in 2012-13 fiscal, a 0.55 per cent growth over the previous year's figure of 281.05 lakh tonnes, a top port official said here today.

The port handled container traffic of 4,75,599 TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units). Imports accounted for 198.54 lakh tonnes, registering a growth of 1.49 per cent while exports at 84.06 lakh tonnes registered a decrease of 1.63 per cent, compared to last year.

The port's operating income was Rs 367.80 crore while its operating ratio stood at 59 per cent, port chairman S Natarajan told reporters here.

The outer harbour project had been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 7,500 crore, it said.

The outer harbour would feature nine berths and the resulting capacity addition on implementation of the project would be 42 million tonnes. The project is expected to take off in the year 2015 and be ready by 2019, he said.