Indian Ports Buoy by Healthy Growth in Cargo
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Friday, July 28, 2017
Indian port sector players will continue to experience healthy growth in cargo in the near term, PTI reported quoting rating agency Icra.
Traction in Inland Waterway projects will open up several business opportunities for the port sector players.
"Over the medium to long term, cargo growth is expected to gain further traction driven by domestic requirements of coal for power and other sectors, crude oil, for meeting domestic petroleum requirements and containers, given the cost and logistical advantages associated with containerisation." Icra said in a statement.
"Port sector players will continue to experience healthy growth in cargo in the near term, albeit somewhat lower compared to the recent fiscals, as revival in iron ore exports and pick up in POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) volumes as well as impetus for coastal shipping will be partially offset by lower coal imports following the increase in coal production by Coal India Ltd," said K Ravichandran, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Corporate Ratings, Icra.
Moreover, cash accruals of the players will be supported by steadily rising handling rates, barring the projects where the tariff setting process is mired in litigations, he said.