Ruia brothers-led Essar Ports on Sunday announced that its Rs 830 crore-worth expansion works to upgrade the iron ore handling capacity of the Vishakapatnam harbour terminal are nearing completion.

“On completion, the upgraded terminal will have a loading rate of 8,000 tonnes per hour (TPH), which will be among the highest for an Indian port,” the company said in a release here.

Since taking over the project in May 2015, Essar Vizag Terminals Limited (EVTL) has ramped up the iron ore loading capacity of the terminal from 25,000 tonnes per day (TPD) to 70,000 TPD, the statement said.

“After the completion of the upgradation-cum-modernisation project, the loading capacity will increase to 120,000 TPD, and the facility will be able to berth vessels up to 200,000 DWT, with a draft of 18 metres, on the outer harbour,” it added.

Essar’s iron ore handling terminal at Vizag Port is an all-weather deep draft facility that can serve the rapidly growing markets of South East Asia, the company said.

“The facility is one of a kind in India with a state-of-the-art mechanised system, and one of the highest loading rates,” Essar Ports MD Rajiv Agarwal said in a statement.

“We aim to be the preferred choice of exporters in eastern India,” said Essar Vizag Port CEO C.H. Satyanand.