Concerned over the rapid beach erosion along the Orissa coast, the Goplapur Port Limited (GPL) had decided to build at least seven stone-walls near the port site to protect the coastal villages in South Orissa’s Ganjam district.
The stone walls with a length of 400m to 500m will be constructed on the north side of the port site at Arjepalli.
The walls would be guard-walls along the marine drive near the Chennai port, said MM Moharana, the director of GPL.
The construction of stone walls by GPL was in accordance with the proposal made by the people of nearby villages, who had assembled at Arjeepalli, about 25km from here, near the port site to participate in a public hearing.
The public hearing was conducted by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board on August 19 to give the environmental clearance for expansion of the port.
Even though the people of the neighbouring villages did not raise any environmental issue in the public hearing, they suggested that massive plantation should be taken up by the port authorities to counter dust pollution.
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Meanwhile, the authorities of GPL agreed to set up a small hospital near the port site to cater to the needs of the health services of the nearby villages.
The company would set up a hospital as a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), Moharana said.
He, however, did not spell out the investment figure for the proposed hospital. GPL was a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by a consortium of three companies- Sara International Private Limited (SIPL), Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) and the Hong Kong-based Nobel Group Limited (NGL) to develop the minor and seasonal port in Gopalpur into a major, all-weather port.
This project did not involve any displacement or acquisition of forest land and it is to be developed on BOOT (build, operate, own and transfer) basis.
GPL was investing Rs 1,700 crore for this project which is expected to be operational by 2010.
"The construction work to make the port as one of the major and all-weather ports of the country is going on in full-swing and we expect that the work will be completed before the targeted period of 2010 " Moharana claimed.
The consortium had signed an agreement with the Orissa government on September 16, 2006 for this purpose and the government had given 800 acres in advance possession to GPL for the port project.
GPL aimed to construct a container terminal and put up an oil jetty by 2012-13.
Gopalpur port had handled 2.56 lakh metric tonnes in 2007-08 as against the cargo traffic of 50,000 metric tones in the previous year.