Uncertainty looms large over long standing proposal of Jindal Infrastructure Ltd, a JSW group company, to set up a minor port at Bichitrapur in Balasore district, as the state government is yet to take any decision on the project citing legal restrictions.

"The captive port proposal of JSW is under consideration. Since there is a case pending at the Odisha High Court challenging the port policy, no decision has been taken as of now," said Subrat Tarai, state commerce and transport minister in a written reply to the assembly during recently concluded Winter Session.

Challenging the state government's decision to sign agreements with private companies for development of minor ports instead of approaching competitive bidding route, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed at the top court of the state. The High Court, through an interim order in May this year, has asked the Odisha government not to sign any new MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with port developers till the disposal of the case.Earlier in March this year, the government had said it was awaiting techno-economic feasibility study (TEFS) to approve the port development proposal.

The Bichitrapur port project has not made any headway after JSW Infrastructure announced to invest Rs 2238-crore there in 2010, targeting cargo throughput of 10 million tonne per annum (mtpa) in the first phase.

JSW wanted to build this port in 2008 to support its proposed steel making facility in West Bengal.

Apart from clearance issue, there were concerns that since the state government has approved another minor port at Kirtania, just 10 Km away from the site selected by JSW, it would not be feasible for companies to invest huge amount of money in projects situated in close proximity.

Even JSW, which had plans to build a steel plant in the state along with the port, is doubtful of its proposal. The company has already indicated that its upcoming steel plant would use the facility of Dhamra port or Paradip port to meet its import and export needs.

"We have plans to set up a steel plant close to a port in Odisha coast. Though we have identified two to three sites, Kendrapara is most suitable place because of its proximity to Paradip Port and a port at Dhamara," JSW Chairman and Managing director Sajjan Jindal said in July , while announcing the Rs 15000 crore steel plant proposal.

Odisha has identified 14 potential places for development of minor ports as per its port policy and to take benefit of its vast 480 km coastline that faces Southeast Asia. While the first phase work has been completed at Dhamra and Gopalpur, the rest projects are in the drawing board stage. The other ports are to be located at Bichitrapur, Subarnarekha river mouth, Bahabalpur, Chandipur, Inchudi (all in Balasore district), Chudamani (Bhadrak district), Barunei river mouth (Kendrapada district), Jatadhari mouth (Jagatsinghpur district), Astaranga, Baliharachandi (Puri district), Palur and Bahuda river mouth (Ganjam district).