Paradip, Dhamra to sign pact with Odisha

The 201-kms stretch is part of the national waterways 5 that starts at the Talcher river and has the Kharsua and the Brahmani rivers as its part

The Paradip Port Trust, a major port in Odisha, along with the state government and the Adani group-owned Dhamra Port, is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the Jokadia-to-Paradip and Dhamra stretch of Kharsua river for inland trade.

The 201-km stretch is part of the National Waterway-5, which starts at the Talcher river and has Kharsua and Brahmani rivers as its part.

While the long-term plan is to develop the entire waterway, for now only a part of the project is taken up. Under the MoU to be signed by the end of this month, the state government will provide the land required to make the river water pliable for ships and construction of terminals. A depth of 2.5 to three meters has to be maintained for the vessels to move. “We will play our part in developing the terminals. The cargo commitment from companies will determine the success of this project,” S S Mishra, chairman of Paradip Port Trust, told Business Standard.

The waterway would be used to supply mainly coal cargo to the nearby Kalinganagar town, which has been declared an industrial estate by the Odisha government.

Companies including Tata Steel, Jindal Stainless steel, Neelachal Ispat, and Maitan Ispat, among others, have signed up for developing their facilities at Kalinganagar.

“The main cargo in this part of the country is minerals, which is high in volumes. It gets evacuated mainly through road and rail, which is constrained by capacity. It makes sense to move such bulk cargo through inland waterways,” said Santosh Mohapatra, CEO of Dhamra Port.

The two ports – Dhamra and Paradip - would compete for the cargo while working together on the MoU to promote trade on National Waterway-5.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is also conducting a technical study re-evaluating the required dredging and other works. The current cost of the entire project is yet to be estimated. In 2009, the cost estimated by IWAI for the waterway was Rs 4,200 crore.

Coal from Talcher to Dhamra and Paradip ports is the most important potential cargo for the waterway. According the detailed project report by IWAI, after the development of the waterway, about 11 million tonnes of cargo can be transported every year, which can go up to 23 million tonnes in the next 15 years.

PROJECT DETAILS

• The 201-km Jokadia-to-Paradip and Dhamra stretch is part of the National Waterway-5, which starts at the Talcher river and has Kharsua and Brahmani rivers as its part
• Under the MoU to be signed by the end of this month, the state government will provide the land required to make the river water pliable for ships and construction of terminals
• Coal from Talcher to Dhamra and Paradip ports is the most important potential cargo for the waterway
• The current cost of the entire project is yet to be estimated