The Union Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, has convened a meeting for next Monday to discuss the proposal for a dedicated container terminal at Diamond Harbour, as contained in the report submitted recently to the Shipping Ministry by the high-powered Mohan Committee.
Headed by Capt P.V.K. Mohan, Member of the National Shipping Board, the other members of the committee included Mr S. Hajara, CMD of Shipping Corporation of India; Mr Lukose Vallatharani, Joint Director-General of Shipping; Capt L.K. Panda, Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department, Kolkata; and Mr R.G. Thawani, Regional Manager of SCI in Kolkata.
The Minister, it is learnt, will also hold a meeting on December 11 in Kolkata to discuss relevant issues with the trade. Inquiries reveal that the trade has welcomed the dedicated terminal proposal, in view of the critical problems the importers and exporters have been facing for some time at Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia, while handling boxes.
At Diamond Harbour, the average draft of the Hooghly river being higher than that at KDS and Haldia, the container feeder vessels with higher average parcel load will be able to call there; also, hopefully, there will be no dock labour board and therefore the cost of operation should be lower.
However, the trade also emphasises the need for better connectivity to and from the proposed terminal. For example, a new railway line, connecting to the nearest railway station with the proposed terminal, has to be constructed and the road network too has to be revamped in the area. Additionally, the river route can also be used to bring in and evacuate the boxes, thus necessitating adoption of long-standing river conservation measures.
Will KDS and Haldia lose container traffic once the dedicated terminal at Diamond Harbour becomes operational? Wonder many in shipping circles. It is too early to say anything firmly in this regard, reply the port sources.
But the drop in throughout, if any, should not ring any alarm bells, it should be viewed in totality. After all, the proposed terminal will be part of Kolkata port and any increase in throughput there will benefit the port as a whole.
Container berths
Haldia dock, in the event of any major drop in container throughput following the commissioning of Diamond Harbour terminal, should be able to use its container berths for handling bulk traffic whose volume is steadily increasing. But any such drop is not foreseen in immediate future.
Whether or not KDS will experience any slump in container throughput will depend on the trade, which might use Diamond Harbour terminal as an additional facility and continue at KDS.
In that case the Diamond Harbour terminal will handle only the incremental traffic while the container throughput at KDS (as also at Haldia) will remain more or less unchanged at the current levels.
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