Kendrapada MP Baijayant Panda on Wednesday attended a joint meeting with Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mahapatra, Commerce and Transport Secretary G Mathivatnan, and Planning Commission (in charge of all major national infrastructure bids) Member Gajendra Haldea at the State Secretariat for development of a riverine port on the Mahanadi near Paradip in the PPP mode.
Panda highlighted the utility of the port and emphasised on the coming up of the project as it will bring huge financial benefits to Odisha as well as carry a mega size direct and indirect employment facility to the people of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.
The cost of the riverine port project is estimated at Rs 2,000 crore. It has been decided to conduct a study to determine the technical feasibility and financial viability of the project. If the project is found viable, then the project’s implementation would be awarded to the bidder selected through competitive bidding process.
Though its exact location is yet to be finalised, the port project is likely to come up at the Mahanadi river mouth near Paradip. The riverine port has been envisioned as a common user port for several industries.
