Port capacity to cross 1-bn tonne mark

The combined capacities of all major and non-major ports will be crossing the one-billion tonne mark in September.

Till date, the nation-wide capacity is 996 million tonnes. With Gujarat Maritime Board facilities adding 19 million tonnes next month, the total capacity in the country is expected to be 1015 million tonnes.

However, the major chunk of the contribution to the growth in capacity has come not from the government-controlled 12 major ports but from the non-major ports, led by those managed by Gujarat Maritime Board.

The capacities available at non-major ports as on June 30, 2010 were: Gujarat (243.64 million tonnes), Andhra Pradesh (49.14 million tonnes), Maharashtra (28.28 million tonnes), Goa (13.90 million tonnes), Karnataka (9.20 million tonnes), Puducherry (4.30 million tonnes), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (3.23 million tonnes), Orissa (2.00 million tonnes), Tamil Nadu (1.2 million tonnes), Kerala (0.17 million tonnes) and Daman & Diu (0.005 million tonnes).