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Pipavav Port is a multi-purpose port in Saurashtra, Gujarat, India, 90 km south of Amreli, 15 km south of Rajula and 140 km southwest of Bhavnagar. Pipavav was India’s first private sector port. Its lead operator is APM Terminals.[1] The port handles a wide variety of cargo, including coal, iron ore, and liquefied petroleum gas.[2]
A proposed expansion of the coal jetty and phase two dredging was expected to provide an additional 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of coal handling capacity to the port's existing 5 mtpa coal capacity.[3] However, the port has since de-emphasized coal and other bulk cargo operations in favor of liquid cargo and ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off) handling.[4]
Location
Background
In 1986 the Indian government authorized an expenditure of 5 million rupees to initiate port development at Pipavav. Port construction was completed in 1998, and in 2005 APM Maersk took over port operations, making significant investments in machinery and infrastructure.
In 2007, the port's coal yard was built.[5] In 2009, the port's new managing director, Prakash Tulsiani, considered selling off Pipavav's non-container facilities given APM Terminals' traditional emphasis on containers, but decided to retain the port's well-established dry bulk cargo operations, including coal.[6]
By 2013, coal had become Pipavav Port's primary dry bulk commodity, accounting for nearly half of total dry bulk volume processed in the second quarter. [7]
However, port officials slashed expansion plans for coal in April 2014, citing weak demand from power plants as the cause for a significant drop in imports, and cutting projected annual capacity from 20 million tonnes down to 4 or 5 million tonnes.[8] Even so, Managing Director Tulsiani was quoted in July 2014 as saying that new coal-fired power plants might eventually revitalize bulk demand."[6]
More recently, coal operations at Pipavav Port have seen a steady decline as the port has begun focusing on liquid cargo and ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off) operations. Total dry bulk traffic declined from to 4.64 million metric tons in 2015 to 2.47 million metric tons in 2016[4], and in October 2017 the port's Managing Director, Keld Pedersen, reported that investment in coal has become unviable for port operator APM Terminals.[9]
According to its annual report, Pipavav Port handled a total of 2.3 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo in 2019-2020.[10] There is no mention of expanding coal capacity at the port, and dry bulk expansion plans appear to be cancelled.
As of November 2021, the APM Terminals website lists a total dry bulk capacity of 4 million tonnes yer year at the Pipavav Port.[11]
Project Details
- Operator: APM Terminals
- Location: Saurashtra, Gujarat, India
- Existing Coal Capacity (Tonnes per annum): 4 million
- Additional Proposed Coal Capacity (Tonnes per annum): 5 million
- Status: Operating
- Expansion Status: Cancelled
- Type: Imports
- Coal source:
- Cost of expansion:
- Financing for expansion:
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ "APM Terminals Pipavav" Brochure downloaded from APM website, February 2015.
- ↑ "APM Terminals: Pipavav" APM Terminals website, accessed February 2015.
- ↑ "IHS McCloskey Coal Report," Feb 7, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "India’s Pipavav port shifts focus to liquid and ro-ro cargoes " JOC.com, April 13, 2017.
- ↑ "Port Pipavav's Long Voyage" APM Terminals Pipavav website, accessed February 2015.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Ugly duckling becomes billion-dollar port" Maersk Post, July 7, 2014.
- ↑ "For Pipavav port, coal is gold, not fertiliser or foodgrain" The Hindu Business Line, August 1, 2013.
- ↑ "Gujarat Pipavav Port cuts expansion plan on lower bulk cargo visibility" Business Standard, April 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Will invest in port expansion as needed, says Gujarat Pipavav MD" Business Standard, October 30, 2017.
- ↑ Annual Report 2019-2020, APM Terminals, 2020, p. 43
- ↑ Bulk Cargo, APM Terminals, Accessed November 2021
