VOC Port records 16% rise in container traffic volume

MADURAI : V O Chidambaranar Port’s DBGT container terminal has witnessed a phenomenal growth in container traffic by handling 4,52,350 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) of cargo until August 2024 this fiscal year, accounting for a growth of 16 per cent when compared to 3,90,388 TEUs containerized cargo handled during the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The terminal has also performed impressively during August by handling 61,764 TEUs, registering a whopping growth of 31per cent against 47,156 TEUs handled during August last year, shipping sources said.

Jose Celestine Villavarayar, of the Confederation of Indian Industry at Thoothukudi on Sunday said the overall container traffic has grown in India because of the country’s foreign investment and the thriving manufacturing sector. “As part of the ‘China Plus One’ strategy to prevent investing only in China and diversify business, global manufacturers tend to see a bright future for India, which has emerged as an alternative to China, the largest economy in Asia,” he said.

Further explaining, Villavarayar said as the VOC Port is strategically located connecting the East Coast and the West Coast, it paves the way for handling more coastal cargo. With India embarking on a Green Hydrogen mission, the VOC Port was one among the three seaports to have been chosen for handling cargo, Villavarayar told DT Next.

Welcoming the trend, C Karthikeya Prabhu, a port user, said a considerable volume of containerised cargo can be handled for the mega solar manufacturing plant to come up at Gangaikondan in Tirunelveli with the logistic support of VOC Port.

More importantly, the public hearing for the much-awaited Outer Harbour Development project, which could compete with the Colombo seaport in Sri Lanka and ensure logistics cost savings, is slated for September 3 in Thoothukudi, T Velshankar, the former president, of Tuticorin Stevedores Association said.

K Pon Venkatesh, the Secretary, of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Thoothukudi said a few stakeholders have responded to expressions of interest called by the government for the project.