The economic slowdown has taken its toll on the 130-year-old Mumbai port. Cargo handling was down 8.9% to 51.9 million tonne in 2008-09 against 57 mt in 2007-08. This was largely due to falls of 4 mt in liquid cargo, 1 mt in iron and steel and 0.75 mt in petroleum and oil products. Mumbai port?s cargo handling in 2008-09 was even lower than the 52.4 mt recorded in 2006-07.

The Mumbai Port Trust had set a cargo-handling target of 62 mt for 2008-09, or 5 mt more than 2007-08 (it had surpassed its original target of 52 mt in 2007-08). However, the Port Trust chairman Rahul Asthana told FE, ?The meltdown has severely affected international trade. The high volatility in crude oil prices also had an adverse impact on exim trade. The major commodities handled in 2008-09 were crude oil & petroleum products (which accounts for almost 60% of total cargo handling), edible oil, coal, pulses, iron & steel, sugar and motor vehicles.?

Kolkata and Cochin ports have also been hit by the global meltdown. Cochin handled 15.2 mt of cargo in 2008-09, against 15.8 mt the year earlier, a fall of 3.3%. Kolkata handled 54.1 mt in 2008-09, against 57.3 mt in 2007-08, a decline of 5.7%. According to the Indian Ports Association, Kandla continued to top, achieving 72.2 mt, followed by Visakhapatnam (63 mt), Chennai (57.5 mt) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (57.3 mt) in 2008-09. Mumbai is far behind.

A Mumbai-based port and shipping analyst, who did not wish to be named, said, ?There are restrictions on cargo handling by Mumbai port. There are limitations on the entry of vessels. Besides, due to octroi imposed by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, exporters are largely reluctant about Mumbai port. Even though the octroi issue has been streamlined with the civic body, exporters are still hesitant about cargo handling at Mumbai port.? However, Mumbai will continue to be an important player in bulk cargo.

Mumbai Port Trust has already undertaken plans for new facilities and modernisation of existing ones. According to Asthana, it is going ahead with an ambitious offshore container terminal project at an investment of Rs 1,700 crore. It envisages the development of two berths with a 700-m quay length and a draft to accommodate 6,000-TEU capacity vessels. With a handling capacity of 8 lakh TEUs a year, the facility will be commissioned by December 2010. ?This is being implemented on a BOT basis, wherein Mumbai port?s investment will be Rs 450 crore for dredging and filling. We hope it will be commissioned in December 2010, by when the economy is expected to revive,? he said. Besides, the Trust is investing Rs 460 crore to redevelop the harbour wall berths to have a linear quay of 882 m to cater to break bulk, dry bulk and roll-on/roll-off traffic. The project is expected to be commissioned by June 2011.

For liquid chemicals and special grade petroleum, oil & lubricant (POL) products, an additional berth is being developed by the Trust at Pir Pau. This facility will come up by March 2011, adding a capacity of 2 mt. Similarly, to meet the increasing demands of POL traffic, the Trust is adding a fifth berth at Jawahar Dweep with a draft of 17 m, which would add to capacity by 18 mt.

Moreover, to improve rail connectivity, the Trust has planned investment of Rs 131 crore towards laying a dedicated freight line between Wadala and Kurla. It has already signed an MoU with Central Railway to execute the work. This will connect the port railway to the fifth and sixth lines being laid by Central Railway. According to Asthana, the Trust is in the process of commissioning three 16-tonne capacity shore cranes later this year. Two highly manoeuvrable dock tugs with a 12.5-tonne bollard pull capacity each are being inducted shortly.

Additionally, the Trust has extended several facilities/concessions to the trade, which include pre-shipment storage facilities for the export of raw sugar, oil cakes, iron & steel, project cargo and vehicles; long-term storage up to 180 days for import of agri products; and an increase in free days for fertilisers/fertiliser raw materials brought by a mother vessel and unloaded at Hay Bunder. Besides, the Trust has also increased free days for cargo and containers and has provided a concessional box rate for stuffing and de-stuffing of containers. Further, the Trust has reduced stevedoring charges for bagged/bulk oil cake and raw sugar, midstream discharge and topping up operations.