The Shipping Ministry has decided to accept Capt Mohan Committee's recommendation for a dedicated container terminal, to be complete with three berths and two barge jetties, at Diamond Harbour on the Hooghly river, within the jurisdiction of Kolkata Port Trust. The capacity of the terminal will be one million TEUs annually.
The decision was taken on Monday at a high-level meeting in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by the Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu. The Chairman of the Capt Mohan Committee, Capt P.V. K. Mohan; the Chairman and Managing Director of the Shipping Corporation of India, Mr S. Hajara, who is also a member of the committee; the Shipping Secretary, Mr A.K. Mohapatra; the Chairman of Kolkata Port Trust, Dr A.K. Chanda, and the senior officials from the Defense, Railways, Customs and the National Highways Authority of India, among others, were present.
KPT's pitch rejected
Earlier, Kolkata Port Trust was mulling setting up three berths - one each for handling liquid bulk, dry bulk and containers - at Diamond Harbour and accordingly got a project report prepared by a Delhi-based consultancy firm.
The Monday's meeting accepted the Committee's recommendation to set up only a dedicated container terminal, thus rejecting the port's plan.
This means that all the three berths, each of 240-metre length, will be handling only containers and not bulk cargo. There will also be two barge jetties, each of 100-metre length, making the quay line nearly one-km long.
The purpose of constructing barge jetties is to focus on large-scale transportation of containers by barges to and from the proposed terminal. It was felt that the current container handling facilities at Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia dock should supplement the requirement of the proposed terminal.
On completion of the terminal, the feeder vessels will stop calling at either KDS or Haldia dock; instead, there will be barge transportation of boxes, both loaded and empties, between KDS/Haldia and the proposed terminal.
Increasing connectivity
The railway transportation of boxes too was discussed. A two-km long railway line would be constructed to connect the terminal with the Eastern Railway's network at Diamond Harbour. Road connectivity too would be needed to connect the terminal with the National Highway 117, though the evacuation of containers by road would not receive priority, at least in the foreseeable future.
The Shipping Secretary, it is learnt, will decide on the best mode of funding the project. The BOT route might be the preferred mode and accordingly bids might be invited from across the globe. It is felt that the project should be completed within 36 months from the zero date.
Mr Baalu will be visiting Kolkata on December 11 to discuss the project with the cross-section of stakeholders. He is likely to meet the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, presumably to seek the State Government's cooperation for an early and expeditious completion of the project, it is learnt.
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