Coal news and updates

Vizag Port to seek PCB nod on coal volumes via road

August 13: Vizag Port Trust is likely to approach the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB), seeking permission to carry more than one million ton of coal by road from Vizag General Cargo Berth Pvt Ltd (VGCBPL), a senior official from the port told ICMW.

“We will approach the PCB, seeking permission to carry more quantity of coal by road as we do not want to lose the cargo. Ultimately, we have to work on the statutory framework laid down by the APPCB,” he said.

On July 18, 2014, a circular from the port said the APPCB conditionally permitted the movement of 1 million ton (mt) of coal by road from VGCB.

The conditions stipulated that trucks carrying coal should be through a dedicated service road of the port and be covered with tarpaulin. The PCB also mandated that the fugitive emission level due to truck movement has to be monitored with baseline ambit air quality or AAQ data.

Apart from this terminal, coal from Vizag Port is despatched through a combination of road and railways, the official said.

He said, at the time when permission was granted for putting up the VGCB berth for privatisation on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis; the Pollution Control Board had built in some restrictions.

The APPCB had said the entire cargo landed at that particular terminal had to be move out via rakes.

“However, after the terminal became operational, some of our clients wanted the cargo from Vizag Port to be despatched by road. We had no option but to ask the terminal operators to seek the permission of the Pollution Control Board. Accordingly, we have requested the Pollution Control Board and now only one million ton of coal is allowed to be despatched by road if we have to meet these conditions,” the official added.