The Hindu Business Line : Kolkata port team plans to build jetty on Hooghly

The proposed jetty would be an advanced one with mechanised handling facilities for all types of cargoes, bulk, break-bulk and containers, to be complete with a container freight station and adequate backup area.

Kolkata , Nov. 30

KOLKATA Port Trust (KoPT), in partnership with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and a private sector firm, proposes to construct a modern jetty on the Hooghly river front under the Kolkata Dock System to cater to the requirements of the IWT (inland water transport) trade.

Giving this information here on Wednesday, Dr A.K. Chanda, Chairman of KoPT, stated that the jetty would be a model one for private sector entrepreneurs venturing into such projects.

"However, the operation of the jetty will be left to a private operator," Dr Chanda told Business Line, adding, "we will not be involved in the operation". Mr Rahul Sareen, Chairman of IWAI, said that the proposed jetty would be an advanced one with mechanised handling facilities for all types of cargoes, bulk, break-bulk and containers, to be complete with a CFS (container freight station) and adequate backup area.

He regretted that the private entrepreneurs were yet to respond adequately to various incentive schemes being provided by the Union Government to promote IWT in the country.

Earlier, while addressing an interactive session on `Problems & Prospects of India-Bangladesh Riverine Trade', organised jointly by KoPT and Calcutta Customs here last week, Dr Chanda stressed on the need for constructing suitable vessels capable of operating in various rivers and canals in the country.

"Instead of spending a fortune on dredging to improve the navigability of the river, it will be more appropriate to design low-draft vessels suitable for the river systems with poor navigability," he said pointing out that no single type of rivercraft would do as the river systems in the east differed from those in the west, north or in the south and the vessels had to be built to adjust to local characteristics and suit to local conditions.

He also emphasised the need for widening the scope of benefits available for promotion of infrastructure to include construction of IWT vessels.

"The present vessel subsidy scheme is inadequate as it covers only vessels up to 1,000 tonne capacity whereas the promotion of India-Bangladesh trade through the river route requires much higher capacity vessels," he said adding that IWT infrastructure promotion scheme should not include construction of terminals only.

Mr Sareen outlined various challenges facing the IWT sector and these included not only strengthening infrastructure but also the need for inter-modal linkages, how to ensure LAD (least available draft), safety measures and the need for standardisation systems and procedures, including construction of vessels, as per the norms laid down by the International Maritime Organisation and other bodies.

Mr S. Basu, Chief Commissioner of Customs, explained the customs facilities available at various points on the route and invited suggestions from the users for further improvement.

The participants representing the river transport companies in both private and public sectors, boat-builders, clearing and forwarding agents, shippers' organisation and the Container Corporation of India, which is set to launch regular containerised services between Kolkata port and Narayangunj port near Dhaka , raised a variety of issues standing in the way of trade between India and Bangladesh by the river route.

Many of these issues, it was felt, should be sorted out at the level of the Joint Standing Committee of the India-Bangladesh Protocol on Trade and Transit.

There has been no meeting of the committee for a long time.

On expiry, the tenure of the protocol is being extended on six months basis.

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