Development of Port Infrastructure for Coal Industry in India & Abroad Synopsis

The woes of domestic coal shortages are well documented and so is the, deficit
of quality port infrastructure for cargo handling. With rising energy demand, it
has become imperative to continue importing coal to feed the power plant as
domestic coal production is constraint in short term. Coking coal production in
India is unlikely to pick up in near future and imports of coking coal will continue
to escalate in line with steel capacity augmentation.
The importers in India have limited control on international coal prices and sae
freight rates unless they own mines and ships. Even in the case of such
ownership, an importers would like to reap economies of scale and have fast
turnaround of vessel to lower the sea freight. This calls for deep draft ports,
mechanised unloading at berth, optimal storage plot and fast evacuation by
rake, This calls for investment not only on marine side, but also in fast rail
loading and ensuring rake availability on continuous basis.
Adani Group which operate the largest private port in India and is a multi
location port , has developed coal handing infrastructure in line with Industry
demand. At Mundra, it has a deep draft port which can berth Capesize vessels
of 1,80,000 DWT and evacuated the same in 3 days time. At Dahej, It has
facility for handling fully loaded panama vessels. In Australia, it has a facility
of ship loading upto 1,20,000 DWT at Abbot Point.
You may ask , what if coal imports reduce on account of enhanced domestic
production?. We anticipate that in such a scenario, Indian Railways will not be
able to transport coal production from eastern part of country to western part
and hence coal will have to moved through coastal route from east coast ports
to west coast ports.
The import facility in such a scenario will handle
domestic coal.
Infrastructure development is a time consuming process both on account of
risks involved as also the gestation period. It will be helpful if facilities are
planned now so that they are operational in next few years.