VASCO
The first train bringing in iron ore from Karnataka for export from Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) arrived in the port on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters, MPA Dy Chairman G P Rai said with the State government allowing import of iron ore from other States for export, the train had arrived with iron ore from Karnataka.
"This is the first railway to arrive at the Vasco port after nearly a decade and this marks the beginning of iron ore export activity at the MPA. The MPA will now have a good income from this activity as we will get income from Railways handling, wharfage charges etc.”
“This is also a new business for the port where we will unload the cargo and send it via barges to ships in the sea for export and this is a new ray of hope, especially since the port has been financially struggling for the last several years and this cargo will add to around 2 million tonnes to our traffic. Railways is a safest and cleanest mode of transport and we expect all cargo to come by trains so as to keep the State and port clean," said Rai.
"We can identify other cargo but the port has shortage of space and even in the container handling, we have only one crane to handle containers which faces frequent break downs. We have gone for a PPP model and we will have meeting on February 15, after which we will have tenders and sanctions and hopefully by next year, things will fall in place," said Rai.
Nitesh Samant of Vedanta Company said the iron ore cargo had come from Karnataka and was to be exported to China.
"We are the first to bring in iron ore from Karnataka and this service which has begun after a decade will add to the revenue of the port and the local economy. The rakes will keep continuously coming and we have not planned any figure as such as of now because we are in the initial stage. We can firmly decide on the number of trains, once we know the capacity and observe the port traffic for a few days," said Samant.
The train was welcomed on arrival by MPA Vice Chairman G P Rai, Traffic Manager Capt. Himanshu Shekar, Sr Dy Traffic Manager Jerome Clement, Nitesh Samant and Suchendra Agni of Vedanta company and others.
