The Hindu Business Line : Paradip port to take part in SPV for rail network

PARADIP Port Trust will participate in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) to be floated shortly by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for the construction of an 80-km railway network between Paradip port and Haridaspur under the Khurda Road division of East Coast Railway.

While the details of the SPV are yet to be finalised, it is learnt that the participation of the port may be to the extent of 10 per cent of the estimated project cost of Rs 500 crore.

The proposed railway network will in fact be the extension of the Daitari-Banspani line now under construction. It will establish a direct railway connection between the mineral-rich areas of Orissa and the port.

The network would boost the traffic of several items, particularly iron ore, coal and other minerals.

The throughput, it is estimated, will reach the level of 33 million tonnes annually when the network will be fully operational.

If everything proceeds as per plan, the work on the project should start next fiscal and take about three years to complete.

Once operational, the network is expected to reduce road transportation of ore from the mines to the port. Right now, more than three million tonnes of ore are transported annually by road.

Meanwhile, the iron ore throughput of the port is steadily rising, so much so that the total throughput by March next year might touch eight million tonnes.

Recently, the mechanised iron ore berth, which is nearly 40 years old, created a history of sorts by handling 46,000 tonnes in a single day.