The Hindu Business Line : Kolkata port proposes barge jetties at Haldia

THE Board of Trustees of Kolkata Port Trust has in-principle decided to have two barge jetties constructed on the riverfront at Haldia dock. One of these jetties is to be used for handling chemicals and petroleum products, while the other will be a multi-purpose jetty.

These two jetties will be in addition to two multi-purpose berths, number two and 13th, proposed to be built inside the dock.

While the preliminary work for construction of berths has been initiated, the details of the river front jetties are still to be worked out. Together with the back-up area, each berth is estimated to cost Rs 40 crore. The cost of construction of the jetties, it is felt, will be much lower, since the length of the each jetty will be much smaller about 75 metres. The construction of the berths as well as jetties will be undertaken by the port authorities. As of now, there is no proposal to go for the (build on transfer) BOT route.

The berths, when ready for operation, will be used mainly for handling coal and iron ore. For example, the coking coal import by Steel Authority of India Ltd is set for a big jump, from 3.5 million tonnes to around 5.5 mt shortly. The existing 4A berth, used almost exclusively by SAIL, will not be able to handle the projected throughput, it is felt. Even at the present level of throughput, there have been several cases of bunching of vessels, so much so that the coking coal vessels on SAIL account had to be handled in other berths namely, Numbers 8, 4B and 5. Tata Steel, another importer of coking coal through Haldia dock, too, may step up their imports in future, as and when the proposed coke unit comes up at Haldia.

The decision to construct barge jetties on the riverfront is believed to have been prompted by several considerations. Firstly, there are limitations to have more facilities within the impounded dock. The lock gate has its limitations; the space within the dock too is limited. More important, there have been various suggestions from different quarters eulogising the benefits of large-scale barge movement to and from a riverine port like Haldia.

However, the dock authorities, even as they toy with the idea of constructing barge jetties, are not fully convinced of the cargo potential for successful barge movement.

The idea is to transport cargo between the barge jetties, when ready for operation, and the Sagar Island where the average draft is around 10 metres compared to 8.5 metres at Haldia. Bigger vessels, unable to come to Haldia, can therefore call at Sagar and load and unload cargo facilitating ferrying of the same by barges to and from Haldia.

However, the experimental movement did not result in regular movement. The Inland Waterways Authority of India also runs a barge jetty at Haldia dock but the throughput of the jetty leaves much to be desired, according to dock sources.

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