India: KPCT Achieves Another Milestone

Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT), a world-class container terminal operated by Krishnapatnam Port has set a new benchmark in operational efficiency.

On December 24, 2013 during MSC’s weekly service to Colombo from KPCT, its vessel MV MSC SIERRRA-II became part of an historic moment when 641 TEUs were exchanged with the vessel, with a record hourly crane productivity of 48.6 containers and a berth productivity of 96.64 containers per hour. 2 super post-panamax quay cranes, were used by the terminal to achieve its most efficient crane productivity.

This has been Krishnapatnam Port’s best crane performance at KPCT and probably one of the highest achieved by any container terminal in India.

Main liners such as Maersk, MSC and three feeder services – BTL, Xpress Feeder and Far Shipping regularly call at KPCT because of faster turnaround time with average berthing time for the vessels being 90 minutes and trailer turnaround time being 50 minutes from entry to exit of the port unlike others ports in the country.

The efficiency is evident from the volumes that are increasing month-on-month at the terminal. In FY 2012-13, KPCT handled 13,547 TEU whereas from April – December 2013, KPCT has handled 42,553 TEU. The port is looking at exponential growth in the future.

Vast area, state-of-the-art equipment, deepest draft in the county, efficient & transparent operations and unparallel road & rail connectivity is transforming KPCT into the Container terminal of future on the East Coast of India. It is well connected by a 24-km double-line rail (with an on-dock rail adjacent to Container Yard) and 4-lane roads to the national grid, making for swift access and evacuation of containers and cargo.

Support infrastructure like covered warehouse facility to an extent of 200,000 sq. ft is available towards stuffing and de-stuffing of containers at KPCT. Separate fumigation zone has been developed inside the terminal. Special facilities towards handling of hazardous and non-hazardous cargo also have been provided inside KPCT. In addition to this the terminal has a dedicated customs facility with functional EDI (electronic data interface) to process all the documents to enable faster clearance of consignments. The current cargo profile of KPCT includes barites, cement, chilies, coffee, cotton, equipment and related spares, feldspar, food products, granite, human hair, maize, mango pulp, mica, potash feldspar, packaging materials, polypropylene granules, pulses, PVC products, quartz, rice, sheet material, shredded scrap, sugar, tobacco, turmeric and waste paper.

Besides main line operators, the terminal has also received good support from NVOCCs. With strategic tie-up with MLOs and feeders, freight forwarders, CHAs (customs house agents), LSPs (logistic service providers), CTOs (container train operators) and ICDs (inland container depots), KPCT is proving to be the preferred container handling destination by the world trade on the East Coast of India.

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Press Release, January 2, 2014