The Hindu Business Line : Orissa Government to expand Gopalpur port

The Orissa Government on Thursday signed an agreement with a consortium led by Orissa Stevedores Ltd for expansion, development and operation of the Gopalpur port. The port will be developed into an all-weather port with an investment of Rs 1,700 crore.

The existing seasonal port at Gopalpur in the State's Ganjam district will be developed into an all weather port by Gopalpur Ports Ltd in four years to handle cargo of 10 million tonnes per annum.

Agreement

The consortium, comprising Cuttack-based Orissa Stevedores Ltd, New Delhi-based Sara International Ltd and Hong Kong-based NobleGroup Ltd, will bring in equity of Rs 450 crore out of the total project cost. The balance amount will be raised from financial institutions.

The agreement was signed by the Secretary of the State Government's Department of Transport and Commerce, Mr Priyabrata Patnaik and the Director of Gopalpur Ports Ltd, Mr Mahimananda Mishra.

The Orissa Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik; the State Transport and Commerce Minister, Mr Jayanarayan Mishra; and the Managing Director of Sara International, Mr D.P. Singh; were present at the agreement signing ceremony held at the State Secretariat.

The project has been awarded to the consortium on 25 years build, operate, own, share and transfer (BOOST) basis. In its new avatar, the port's capacity will go up from 25,000 tonnes to 10 million tonnes per annum in the 10th year.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister expressed hope that the development of the port will be beneficial to the people since it will generate activity leading to direct and indirect employment for a large number of young people.

With the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway 5 and the Kolkata-Chennai railway line passing next to it, Gopalpur port has an excellent advantage and could be developed into a full-fledged port in a very short span of time, he said.

Mr Patnaik informed that his Government was exploring the possibility of formation of a special purpose vehicle for construction of extension of Nuapada-Gunupur railway line to Theruvali.

This will enable connectivity of the alumina industries in the Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput (KBK) region to Gopalpur port, he said.

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