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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, AUG 18: Essar Shipping, a Rs 2,000-crore company of Essar group and second largest private sector shipping company, is planning to construct a dry cargo handling terminal at Hajira in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore. The company has submitted the proposal to the Gujarat Maritime Board to construct the terminal on BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis with a 30-year lease programme.
Speaking to newsmen on board of Vessel M T Shravan at Mumbai Harbour, Essar Shipping managing director Captain B S Kumar said that the terminal would handle 8 million tonnes bulk cargo like iron ore, coal and steel products for the consumers in Western Coast.
Meanwhile, the company is changing its focus into bulk and wet cargo handling and has chalked an expansion plan. The company will gradually be phasing out its existing fleet comprising largely of product tankers, bulk carriers and mini bulk carriers and over the next few years it will be acquiring capesize vessels (1,50,000 dwt) and very largecrude carriers.
In order to finance its investment plans, the company will be looking at overseas loans and equity infusions, Kumar said. Kumar said that during the current fiscal, it has made plans to acquire two capesize vessels and in the next two years two large crude carrier at a cost of about $ 150 million.
He said the company will aggressively target global trade to take advantage of the rising international freight rates. It will deploy over 80 per cent of its total capacity of 1.38 million dwt to international operations. The company which earned 55 per cent of its total income in 1998-99 from international operations is planning to increase it to around 62 per cent in 1999-2000.
