 "Idco takes steps to handover land for Essar Steel terminal at Paradip")
Earlier this month, it requested the Director of Ports and Inland Waterways to provide a land map for the proposed riverine port near Paradip and to mark the area reserved for Essar Steel as both the projects did not have clear demarcation of land.
“We have decided to handover the land to Essar Steel excluding the riverfront area and hence, Idco was asked to do the needful”, said a source close to the development.
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In June, the state government had asked Idco to defer the land allotment process for Essar Steel terminal citing undergoing study for development of a riverine port at Mahanadi river mouth near Paradip. Idco had already acquired land for Essar Steel coal terminal since 2012 and, but when the government decided to go ahead with the plan for the riverine port, it was asked to keep the land allotment process in abeyance.
However, when Essar Steel insisted on quick handover of the land citing delays in development of the port, the government agreed.
“A detail map specifying the beginning point of the edge of the land…...will enable us to handover the land to Essar Steel to avoid further complication,” said Idco in its letter to the directorate of ports.
While Essar Steel is planning to build a coal terminal in the area with annual capacity of 14 million tonne, the government has taken a decision to build the riverine port with a capacity of 22 million tonne cargo loading and unloading facility per year.
However, the government has changed the bidding date for invitation of request for qualification (RFQ) twice since February this year, on the ground of lack of interest by the investors for the project.