Global Benchmarks

THU RSE�

I t may seem common sense tommost developed wworrldeconoimes, buut Inndia has

taken too long to realise that aport is not just for docking, load-ing and unloading.A A port, today, is closer to bein gthe base of swift world trade andthe bedrock of industrial parks.Efficient and well pplanned porrtsbecome the foundation of entiredties, as observed in the worldhistory of the last hundredyears.It is the gateway to businessopporrtunnities brrought in bby newglobal economic conditions. It isthe chief instrument to help acountry stabilise prices ofessential commodities by

encouraging the swift import or ex-port of grains and other products.A A casual look arround the wworrldmakes it evident that port cities -

Aberdeen, London or Sanfrancisco- have been geographic markers forglobal trade. Take into account thehistory of port cities around theworld - they typically start asfishing, farming and tourismcentres; go on to become centresfor food and fish pprocessing,industry banking, finance andinsurance majors , good publicadministration, education andhealth. When oil and gas isdiscovered close to ports, theybecomme ennerrgy cities annd hhave astring of oil companies lining uup at

the shore.

New world order and logisticsif India’s geogrraphic location n isever to be its gold mine, it is now. Inthe centre of the new world, withhthe manufacturing behemothChina on the right, surrounded bya string of hhyperactive South-Asianeconnommies, and being a hugemarket itself , India’s only limitationto mmarritimme trrade annd itsbenevolent influence on theeconnomy exxists becauuse of thhehistoric apathy for ports and not us-ing thhe Eastern rn coast optimmally.

Not surprisingly, India has had ahistory of inefficiencies in portmanagement for which globaltrrade hhas nno patiennce. New w focuuson ports from central governmentcould not be more welcome.

I ��ris�na�atnam Port has an

extraordinary edge in n people skills:

wwhether r it is dealinng wwith displacedlacedfishermen, securing the future of their chil-dren, helpping Neilore district evolve, bbuild-ing a sailor club, housing thhe entirre porrtstaff of 2000, pprompt 24/7 operations,

facilitating customers at the port and theindustrial parrks.

To dream of creating a global port facilityfrom a country known to world logisticsexperts only for its delays and incompetentimplementation, nneeds people who canshift beliefs, be orriginal and fearless inimpplementation and do it with sensitivity.CV Rao, Chairman, Krishnapatnam, knewwhat they were up for and hand-p ickked

people for each each role.“We have carefully created a business-

friendly atmosphere. Keeping in mind theperils of logistics, safety, and the dire needfor speed and transparency, eachhfunctional head has a proffle that matchesglobal stanndarrds. ”Krrishnnapatnnam m Porrt is juust a twwo-yearr-old

port and is already creating ripples inshipping circles around the world.This has only been possible due to KPCL’s

Reverse Engineering for Industr yThe entire eco-system of a port, itsmechanisation mix and technology in-stallations are meant to move materialfrom ships to end-point at the highestspeed possible.

Be it the Liebherr, Gottwald,Senneboghan cranes that line the portor the dedicated pipelines that runfrom the ship p berth to the industrialyard that needs oil; or be it theconveyor belts, stackers, reclaimers,ship p loaderrs, wwagon n tipplers; lers; tugs and

d.redgers all are meant to run the portat peak efficiency. About this capitalintensive industry, CEO Anil Yendlurisays ”We want to create capacity beforeits demand arises. That way, there is nolag time. Till now, everything createdhas been used up fully”.

skill of bbuilding and operating the portwith a very high stanndard, giving utmostvalue to all its customers. Its belief ininnovating, improving and adapting to theneeds of its customers is the success success formu-la in making it India’ s biggest multippurposeport with an infrastructure and logisticsetup of international calibre.

The CEO of the Krishnapatnam Portsays, “We create capacity beforre nneed: thheberths have been lined up, ppipelines thatpump raw oil run up to factories , andconveyor r belts directly load on n to wwaitinngcargo trains. Industrial estates attached toports arre the hihighest benefactors of sucharrangements. ”

Within months Krishnapatnam was ableto bbring in a slew of companies that couldbenefit from its oil pipeline infrastructure,

including the Adani Wilinar oil company(Adani has a port of its own) to supply oil

Indust ry ClustersGiven the customer-centric workethic, major edible oil refineries haverealised business potential and arealready operational around the portwhile developments of many others isunder way. Adani Wilmar Limited,Gemini, Saraiwalla, South India EdibleOils, Foods Fats Er Fertilisers andAllana Group are based out ofKrishnaptanam with the total capacityof around 4000 MT per day.

On the power front, Reliance UMPP,

Krishnapatnam, Kineta, Thermal Pow-er Tech, AP GENCO, Nelcast,Meenakshi Group, Simhapuri have setup base. As the port wants to maintaina mix of industries, the next pphhase

should see major chemical, agro andcoking coal units.

to the South of India. Trade logistics are sofine today, proximity to markets matters.

At most ports, a business has to deal witha whole assortment of agencies to get fromthe ship p to the final reaching point . AtKrishnapatnam, all operrationns operrate

from a single point of clearance.In a finely sliced market, ports need swift

clearances, empathetic administration anda focuus on n speedy impplementation.

Hence the obsession with customer satis-faction matches that of a global FMCGcompany. “That is the only way we canstandout. This is something we can do ifwe put our minds to it, ” says Rao is clearrthat this is not about growing individually.

Right now the country needs it, thhe peopleneed it and we are in the riright pplace at thheright time. When everybody around theport grows, we grow.�

Currently in its second phase of development, theport is designed to be one of the biggest in theworld.

4 Krishnapatnam Port achieved a new benchmark byloading 60,021 MT of Iron Ore fines in just 24

hours by using the conventional system of loadingfor ports in India .

4 Krishnapatnam Port has established an all-Indiarecord on 26th August 2010 for coal discharge of55,374 MT using the conventional system of coalunloading for ports in India.

B uilding a port from scratch scratch is liketaking a blank piece of paper with seafacing land, and creating an entire city

around it. The enormity of the task andseeming risk did not deter the people atKPCL. In n their passion to makeKrishnapatnam their ode to global port facffi-

ties, they have created benchmarks forspeed, customer service, transparency, andhassle-free logistical support .

Advantage KrishnapatnamThe port is in the centre of the new worldeconomy, with locational advantages anddeep berthing facffities that should make itone of the biggest private ports in times tocome. come. The surrounding area, excellentweather all year and the credentials of CVRGroup, which has built the port and runs itmakes the port unique.

Transparency and SpeedThe port has a slew of records - from thefastest turn-around time to deep draftcapabilities for handling Capesize andPannammax x vessels, leading to significantsavings in ocean freight. It is common forships to anchor at other Asian ports and thensend smaller vehicles to India for lack of suchfacilities at other ports.

Also the fact that the port has a single

window dearance policy and end-to-endservices from stevedoring to customdocumentation with no inconvenience ofthe typical multipple interfaces of CIlIA,

Customs and port documentation, make itindustry friendly.

Finally, the extensive industrial area thatsurrounds the port is the base for newindustrial growth and actively helps planexpansion freely.

Its Master Plan incorporates 42 berths berths with totalquay length of 12.5 km and draught of 20 m,capable of handling 200,000 DWT Super Capesizevessels.

4 It has a huge back-up area for transit storage thatwill house a dedicated container terminal, an

import hub port for coal for the 14,000 MW powerprojects coming up in its vicinity, an export hubport for iron ore along with the capacity to handlefertilisers, petrochemicals, break-bulk cargo, projectcargo and automobiles.automobiles.

4 It will also have shipbuilding and repair facilitiesalong with world class bunkering, rig repair and off-shore facilities.

VV

____4 J

!Ports andthe Econom y

“At Krishnapatnam we createa new business paradigm

everyday. The dynamics ofthe entire port and itsinfrastructure run parallel tothe needs of industry�”

C Sasidhar,MD, KPCL

Krishna patnam Port :Changing the Indian port paradigm

Major edible oil refineries have

realised the business potential

and are already operational in

the port area. Coming up are a

slew of power plants, coking

coal, chemical and agro-based

industries.