VASCO
Former Goa Barge Owners Association President and ship owner Atul Jadhav on Saturday said that the completion of the 4-lane port connectivity project between Verna and Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) was vital for smooth and effective transportation of containers.
Speaking to reporters, Jadhav said one of the main reasons for the sudden stoppage of the container ship service at MPT was low volumes of containers.
“One of the reasons for low volumes could be the delay in transporting the container to the port.”
“As of now, containers have to move through the city to go to MPT and we have certain time restrictions in the city for movement of heavy traffic and this heavy movement is sometimes allowed only in the night.”
“The container ship comes to MPT once in 10 days and we can’t have a delay in the logistics chain. If the container misses the ship, it may have to wait for the next ship after 10 days.”
“If a container takes around 16 hours to reach from Verna to MPT, a 10-km distance, it would be better for the exporter to send the same container by road to Mumbai, because within 16 hours, the same container can reach JNPT port and get it loaded on a ship in Mumbai,” said Jadhav.
He stated that ship container traffic is the cleanest cargo in the world and container service has stopped at MPT due to various reasons.
“Our endeavour is to persuade authorities to expedite the port connectivity 4-lane project between Verna and MPT, so that containers from Verna can reach MPT in quick time,” said Jadhav.
“This will help in smooth traffic flow, fewer time restrictions and containers from Verna can reach MPT within 2 hours. This will help in clean cargo at MPT and it will benefit stakeholders, besides preventing many road mishaps in Vasco city.”
“The container ship can come once a week and we can also offer daily services of movement of containers by barges as well,” said Jadhav.
