To meet the demand of coal transportation in the country, which is set to increase four times in the coming five years, the Centre on Wednesday approved a Rs 1,439-crore project for mechanisation of three berths at the Paradip Port in Odisha on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) basis.
"The Government has approved mechanisation of three berths at Paradip Port for handling of thermal coal, at an expenditure of Rs 1,438 crore on BOT (build, operate,transfer) mode under PPP," said Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, in an interaction with reporters.
"On completion of the project, the Paradip port will be able to handle export of 50 million tonnes of coal annually. This will help the port to meet the growing demand of thermal coal over the next three to four years," he said.
The current capacity of the three berths is 7.85 million tones, which is expected to increase to 30 million tones. In all, there are 14 berths with draft of 16 mtrs at entrance and 14.5 mtrs at berths.
The Government plans to develop the Paradip Port, which is one of the 12 major ports, as a green and smart city in the coming five years. Gadkari said that the Paradip Port is important for transporting coal from Mahanadi coal fields to States in South and West India (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat).
"Coastal Transportation of coal is set to increase from 25 million tons to over 100 million tons in the next five years. Gadkari said that the port has handled 70 million tonnes of cargo in 2014-15 and registered a profit of Rs 921 crore, he said.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister It said the estimated cost of the project is Rs 1437.76 crore of which Rs 1,412.76 crore will be spent by the concessionaire and the remaining Rs 25 crore will be spent by the Paradip Port Trust on dredging. The project is scheduled to be completed within three years from the date of award of concession.
"This mechanisation project will go a long way in improving the operational efficiency in Paradip Port and thereby reduce transaction cost for thermal power plants dependent on coal supply through Paradip Port," said Gadkari.