The Hindu Business Line : Feasibility study for deep seaport off Bengal coast on cards

The Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, with the Shipping Secretary, Mr A.K. Mohapatra, at a press meet on the 8th meeting of Maritime States Development Council in Kochi on Friday. - K.K. Mustafah

Kochi , Dec 22

The Union Shipping Ministry has proposed to undertake a feasibility study for the development of a deep seaport off the coast of West Bengal, Mr T.R. Baalu, Shipping Minister, has said.

Expressions of interest in this regard have already been received, which are under evaluation and the idea is to create a deep seaport like that off Shanghai Port far away from the coast with a draught of 20 metres, he said at a press meet on Friday.

The Minister, who was here to attend the 8th meeting of the Maritime States Development Council (MSDC), said the investment for setting up such a facility is estimated roughly at Rs 7,000 crore and the port could cater to vessels with a capacity of more than 1.5 lakh teus.

Likewise, the Ministry is proposed to undertake a feasibility study for the development of a transhipment port at Great Nicobar Island and the Government had called for EoI from interested parties. The investments could be estimated only after the detailed project report is ready, he added.

Capacity expansion mode

According to Mr Baalu, a major capacity addition programme has to be launched in ports across the country, as the capacity of major ports is likely to touch 1,300 million tonnes by 2011 and 2,000 million tonnes by 2016-17. The Government in this regard has proposed to make an additional investment of Rs 1 lakh crore through public-private partnership mode so as to increase the port capacity, to update cargo-handling system and to raise the channel depth to receive third generation vessels.

Major ports have initiated a number of measures to increase their capacities with advanced technological support to cater to the demands for cargo handling, he added.

MSDC meeting

On the outcome of the MSDC meeting, the Minister said the Council has suggested measures for the creation of employment opportunities for youth from the fishermen community in `Near Coastal Vessels of Merchant Navy'.

The Director-General of Shipping has been asked to prepare a scheme of action in consultation with the Fisheries Training Institute. The objective is to train young men from the fishing community to man small crafts and boats for supplying required materials to coastal vessels for which the training fees should be subsidised.

The meeting had also requested the Government to sanction Rs 10 crore in the current fiscal for providing the subsidy.

The meeting had also discussed many issues pertaining to the maritime sector and helped to evolve a timely development plan to cater to the changes in the global shipping scenario, Mr Baalu said.