Chennai Port handle 53.41 million tonnes of cargo in 2006-07

Chennai, Apr 11 (UNI) The Chennai Port handled an all time high of 53.41 million tonnes of cargo, surpassing the ministry's target of 52.5 million tonnes in the year 2006-07, coinciding with its 125 year celebration.

Addressing a press conference here, Port Chairman K Suresh said the all time high handling of cargo was 13.04 per cent more than the previous year's achievement of 47.25 million tonnes.

''The port has consistently posted an impressive growth rate of 13.41 per cent for the past three years and occupies the third position after Kolkata and Visakhapatnam ports.'' Of the total throughput of 53.41 million tonnes, exports accounted for 22.94 million tonnes and imports 30.47 million tonnes.

He said adding while the imports signified the development of industrial activities, exports suggested spurt in manufacturing activities.

The container traffic in the current fiscal had reached an all time high of 8,85,422 TEUs, an increase of 20.50 per cent compared to the previous year, he said.

As far as car export was concerned, the Chennai Port had retained the position as the premier car exporting port of India, recording an all time high performance of 1,14,756 cars during 2006-07 as against 1,02,692 cars during the previous year, registering a growth of 11.75 per cent.

He said the provisional operating income for the year 2006-07 was Rs 530.95 crore against the actual income of Rs 431.69 crore last year. According to provisional estimates, the Port registered a Rs 70 crore increase in profit over the previous year, he added.

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