Tuticorin Port cargo handling gone up by 17.14-mn tonnes

Chennai: The Tuticorin Port handled an all-time record cargo of 17.14 million tonnes (mt) for the year ended March 31, 2006, compared to last year's traffic of 15.81 mt, an increase of 8.4 per cent. Imports were 13.37 mt and exports were 37.64 lakh tonnes, according to a Tuticorin Port Trust press release available in its Web site.

Container traffic in 2005-06 was 3.21 lakh TEUs (20-foot equivalent unit) compared to 3.07 lakh TEUs last fiscal, a 4.47 per cent increase. During the year, the port handled 1,576 ships (1,479 ships).

The provisional net surplus during the fiscal was Rs 73.34 crore compared to Rs 67.55 crore (actual) for last fiscal, an increase of 5.79 per cent.

Operating income (provisional) was Rs 159.15 crore (Rs 137.78 crore - actual) and operating expenditure was Rs 62.33 crore (Rs 64.36 crore - actual), the release says.

The average pre-berthing detention for 2005-06 was 0.13 days compared to 0.07 days last fiscal. The average turnaround time was 2.23 days (2.22 days) and output per ship berth day was 5,390 tonnes (5,280 tonnes).

The net worth of the port trust reached an all-time high of Rs 522.15 crore (Rs 452.19 crore).