Parliament Question: Status of import-export and cargo handling at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2080 ANSWERED ON 10.03.2026 STATUS OF IMPORT-EXPORT AND CARGO HANDLING AT SYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE PORT 2080. SHRI SAMIK BHATTACHARYA: Will the Minister of PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS be pleased to state: (a) year-wise volume of cargo handled at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (including Haldia Dock Complex) during the last five financial years i.e 2021-22 to 2025-26 with separate figures for import, export and transhipment/coastal cargo; (b) the details of cargo handling at Kolkata/Haldia Port vis-à-vis other major ports over the last five years; (c) the major commodities handled under import and export during the said period and whether there has been any significant change in cargo composition; and (d) the present status of rail, road and inland waterway connectivity to the Port and the volume of cargo moved through National Waterways linked to Kolkata? ANSWER MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL) (a) The year-wise details of cargo handled at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK), including Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), during the last five financial years i.e., 2021-22 to 2025-26, with separate figures for import, export and transshipment/coastal cargo are given at Annexure-I. (b) The details of cargo handled at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, comprising Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), vis-à-vis other major ports during the last five years are given at Annexure-II.(c) The major commodities handled under import and export during the said period is given below: Major Commodities(Import) Major Commodities(Export) POL (Product) Limestone POL (Products) MTBE LPG Manganese Ore Thermal Coal Iron & Steel Products Paraxylene Pyroxenite Iron Ore Coal Tar Pitch Bitumen Container Container Sugar Palm Oil Vegetable Oil Fly Ash Soya Oil Maize Rice Coking Coal Gypsum Soya Oil Non-coking coal Peas/Pulses Benzene Met. Coke Fertilizer Butadiene Cargo handled at SMPK in last 5 years are tabled below: (In MMT) Cargo handled 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Dry Bulk 32.678 27.437 36.847 36.245 31.003 Break Bulk 2.931 3.036 2.358 2.592 3.117 Liquid Bulk 14.595 15.908 15.868 15.66 16.711 Container 11.164 11.794 10.587 11.948 13.12 TEUs (in No.) 687357 735195 675904 752825 804579 Total 61.368 58.175 65.66 66.445 63.951 It is evident from the above table that total traffic at SMPK in FY 2024-25 has improved by more than 4% compared to FY 2020-21. Except for Dry Bulk, all other cargo segments have shown growth over the last five years, with Break Bulk increasing by 5.97%, Liquid Bulk by 12.66% and Container Traffic by 14.91%. However, in FY 2023-24, SMPK recorded its highest-ever cargo handling of 66.445 MMT, reflecting an increase of more than 8% compared to FY 2020-21. During this period, Dry Bulk traffic also registered an improvement of nearly 11% over FY 2020-21. (d) SMPKis well connected through rail, road and inland waterways. In terms of railway connectivity, the KDS of SMPK is linked to the Eastern Railway at Majerhat Junction under the Sealdah Division, whereas the HDC is connected to the South Eastern Railway at Panskura under the Kharagpur Division.By road, SMPK is well connected to the National Highway network. KDS connects to the Golden Quadrilateral through National Highway (NH)-16 via Dankuni in West Bengal, while HDC connects to NH-16 through NH-116, which links Haldia to Kolaghat on the Golden Quadrilateral. In addition, SMPK is connected to other important National Highways, including NH-12 (linking Dalkhola to Bakkhali), NH-19 (connecting Dankuni to Agra), and NH-112 (connecting Barasat to the petrapole border at Bangaon). With regard to inland waterways connectivity, both the KDS and HDC of SMPK are located on National Waterway-1, which connects Prayagraj to Haldia. Further, the SMPK is also indirectly connected to National Waterways-2 and 16 through the India–Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes. Volume of Cargo (in MMT) of SMPK moves through National Waterways in last 5 years are tabled below: Port 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 KDS 3.20 4.07 4.66 3.44 3.03 HDC 1.20 1.79 1.90 1.85 1.76 SMPK 4.40 5.86 6.56 5.29 4.79Annexure-I Cargo handled at SMPK during the last five financial years i.e. 2021-22 to 2025-26. (In MMT) Fiscal Import Export Transshipment Total Port Year Cargo * KDS 5.79 7.143 2.365 15.298 2021-22 HDC 35.679 7.198 0.000 42.877 SMPK 41.469 14.341 2.365 58.175 KDS 5.957 6.436 4.659 17.052 2022-23 HDC 42.998 5.61 0.000 48.608 SMPK 48.955 12.046 4.659 65.660 KDS 7.225 6.248 3.436 16.909 2023-24 HDC 43.771 5.765 0.000 49.536 SMPK 50.996 12.013 3.436 66.445 KDS 7.580 6.035 3.026 16.641 2024-25 HDC 41.687 5.623 0.000 47.310 SMPK 49.267 11.658 3.026 63.951 2025-26 KDS 7.281 5.946 2.054 15.281 (April, 2025 to HDC 35.586 6.966 0.000 42.552 January, 2026) SMPK 42.867 12.912 2.054 57.833 (*) Transshipment cargo means lighterage cargo handled at Sandheads, Sagar and Diamond Harbour.Annexure-II Cargo handled at SMPK (Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex) vis-à-vis other major ports during the last five years. (In MMT) Port 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26* Total SMPK 58.18 65.66 66.45 63.95 57.83 312.07 PARADIP 116.13 135.36 145.38 150.41 129.71 676.99 VISAKHAPATNAM 69.03 73.75 81.09 82.62 74.34 380.83 KAMARAJAR 216.12 38.74 43.51 45.28 48.41 40.18 (ENNORE) CHENNAI 48.56 48.95 51.60 54.96 48.56 252.63 V.O. 191.25 34.12 38.04 41.40 41.72 35.97 CHIDAMBARANAR COCHIN 34.55 35.26 36.32 37.75 31.61 175.49 NEW MANGALORE 39.30 41.42 45.71 46.01 41.51 213.95 MORMUGAO 18.46 17.33 20.63 18.13 17.70 92.25 MUMBAI 59.89 63.61 67.26 68.63 62.70 322.09 JNPA 76.00 83.86 85.82 92.12 84.49 422.29 DEENDAYAL 127.10 137.56 132.37 150.16 131.25 678.44 (*) For the period April, 2025 to January, 2026 *****