Krishnapatnam Port Reveals an Indian Export-Import Revolution

International Container Cargo ship in operation.

It’s not every day that you see a port increase the amount of container traffic it handles by 88%. It’s not even every year. Krishnapatnam Port did just this year-over-year. They improved their container trade from 255,000 TEUs to 481,000 TEUs in just a year. That trend will continue with 700,000 TEUs expected this year. This should help ease the burden of other Indian ports on the east coast just a little. That will help make shipping from India more efficient, and is just one step India is taking toward improving its complicated shipping picture.

Vast Improvements

This comes on the heels of major improvements to Krishnapatnam Port. Improvements to the tune of $3 billion are nearly half complete. Improved policies and infrastructure developments have helped the port pursue route optimization for many Indian industries that were routing their cargo to other ports. Now, they have less expensive, faster options for shipping from India.

The number of vessels visiting the port also rose by 22%, while total cargo rose 25%. Compare this to the average growth rate of 4.8% for Indian ports.

Krishnapatnam Port is India’s largest deep-water port that operates in all weather. It’s connected to a variety of major industries that are finding more and more advantage relying on the port and its improvements.

Driving Industries

One of the industries that’s booming the most is solar shipments from India. Improved rail connections to states like Telengana and Bangalore have helped to drive this. Solar shipments from India are big business, as solar panels and associated equipment here are shipped around the world. (Wind mill manufacturing is another industry that’s helped Krishnapatnam grow, as the green energy industry has done very well for the country.) Lubricant and fertilizer plants, leather parks, pipe manufacturers, and other industry are also coming to rely on Krishnapatnam.

Continued growth and improvements are expected to make long-term contributions to the economic outlook of Eastern India. The port serves as an ideal export-import gateway for a wide variety of industries, with the room to grow and the right investments being made in connective infrastructure.