Paradip port, the major coal handling port in the country,
witnessed a decline of 24.1 % in thermal coal import in December due
to storing problem inside the port area and running down of contracted volume
of importing agencies.
Imports stood at 762,775 ton last month, against 1 million
ton of imports in November.
In October, the port authorities had written to the state
government to ignore mandatory storing license norms for imported coal, citing
that the norms were unnecessarily creating hurdles in growth of business.
As per the Odisha Mineral (Prevention of Theft, Smuggling
and Illegal mining and Regulation of Possession, Storage and Transportation) Rules, 2007, all mineral transaction must carry a storage license and a
transport license, to check unauthorized use of the state's natural resources.
Paradip Port Trust (PPT) authorities said since the imported
mineral is obtained from outside the national territory, the OMPTS Rule must
not be applied in this case.
“We are yet to receive any reply from the state government
on our plea,” said a port official.
The port gets about a fourth of its Rs 400 crore annual
revenue from coal imports. The time-consuming and unnecessary norm to get a
storing license for imported coal is blocking evacuation of imported coal and
is affecting the efficiency of the port operation and income, they said.
The drop in coal imports was also attributed to nearing of
expiry of contract of importing agencies
“Imports of non-coking coal dropped since some of the
importing agencies have almost consumed their annual contracted volume. As they
are in the process of renewing their contract, it affected the inbound coal
shipments,” he said.
Many power plants located within the state have resorted to
coal imports after the only supplier Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) failed to provide required amount and desired quality of coal. The demand for
imported coal has also gone up in past couple of months due to drop in price, after major consumers such as China and the US cut orders amid global economic
uncertainty.
Although Odisha is a significant thermal coal producer, most power producers import low-ash containing coal from Indonesian and
Australian to blend it with locally-produced high-ash coal for better power
generation.
However, import of coking coal rose significantly during
December from the previous month, as per port traffic department data. The port
unloaded 353,433 ton met coke in December, up from 248,409 ton coinciding with
the rising demand from steel makers, the port source said.
Sourced
Leave a Reply