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Kolkata, Nov 1 (IANS) Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK), the country’s oldest operational ‘major port’, won the Maritime Excellence Award in the Heritage category during the India Maritime Week 2025.
The award was presented in recognition of SMPK’s long-term contribution to India’s maritime development and its rich cultural heritage.
Despite several constraints, including the long and shallow navigation channel to the sea along the Hooghly River, the port is performing very well.
After phenomenal performance in 2024-25, SMPK recorded the highest cargo traffic among all 12 major ports in the country in the first quarter of 2025-26.
Between April and June 2025, the port handled 17.186 million metric tonnes of cargo at its two facilities in Kolkata and Haldia. This was an increase of 21.21 per cent from the cargo handled in the same period of 2024-25.
The award was presented by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister of State Shantanu Thakur Rathendra Raman, Chairman, and Samrat Rahi, Vice Chairman, SMPK.
A senior SMPK official said, “This recognition has added a new jewel to the crown of SMPK, recognizing its 155 years of dedicated service, tracing its remarkable journey from a historic maritime gateway to Eastern India to becoming a dynamic, visionary port that is the bedrock of trade, connectivity and economic growth of the region. Over the decades, SMPK has not only strengthened India’s maritime capabilities, but also stands as a living testament to the country’s industrial and cultural revolution. Is also standing.”
The port consists of Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia Dock Complex (HDC). It also has vast land holdings in Kolkata, Howrah and Haldia, where many port-based industries and warehouses have come up.
–IANS
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