The Hindu Business Line : Bengal seeks PM's help for sea port

THE West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has written to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, seeking his help to set up a sea port in West Bengal as the river ports in Kolkata and Haldia are unable to handle large vessels.

These large vessels are mostly used in international trade, because of the limited navigability of the Hooghly river.

While the port's location is yet to be identified, the West Bengal Government, it is learnt, wants it to be on an island in the Bay of Bengal, away from the coast — something similar to the deep-water container-handling port being set up at the Yangshan Island in East China Sea.

It is felt the Centre should undertake a study to identify a suitable island in the Bay of Bengal.

The West Bengal Government's move follows a recent visit by a delegation, headed by the State Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Nirupam Sen, to Shanghai.

The new port in Yangshan near Shanghai is connected to the mainland by a 32-km eight-lane bridge. The scope for setting up something similar in the Bay of Bengal off the West Bengal coast should be examined, it is felt.

Mr M. L. Meena, Deputy Chairman of Haldia Dock Complex, who was part of the team, has submitted a detailed report to the West Bengal Government, spelling out the details of not only the Yangshan deep-water port plan but also others such as the Luchao Harbour City venture, which is part of the Yangshan port project.

"The State Council has already approved the Yangshan port to be a bonded port area, the first of its kind in China," Mr Meena told Business Line. He said, "One of the notable features of the Yangshan port is to provide it the status of a free port."

Mr Meena's report also includes Ningbo port, Ningbo Economic and Technical Development Zone, Ningbo Free Trade Zone, Ningbo Export Processing Zone, Daxie Island Development Zone, Special Zone at Pudong New Area, Zhangjiang High-tech Park, Jingiao Export Processing Zone, Shanghai Microelectronics Industrial Base and Minhang Economic and Technical Development Zone.

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