KoPT eyes inland options

Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is keen to take up ground-breaking projects in inland water transport (IWT) and shipping to meet the demand from bulk cargo shippers for a viable IWT service.

"There is a strategic reason and an economic reason behind the move" top sources in KoPT told Business Standard.

The KoPt was a strategic response to the move by major shipping companies to get into port infrastructure creation and management, like the proposed P&O Ports project for a minor port at Kulpi on the river Hoogly located midway between the Haldia dock complex (HDC) and the Kolkata dock system (KDS) of KoPT.

"When a shipping line is setting up a port, it would be foolish not to take up IWT projects to secure cargo for KoPT from our clients", said the source.

KoPT was confident it would be able to offer a cost-competitive solution to users for shipment of goods via the IWT system using new generation technology that would work on existing IWT channels.

"KoPT would act as technology demonstrator and a viable IWT service provider because it can access the right technology at an economic price that would benefit users", said the source.

This would bring down costs for users, get more cargo for KoPT's docks and also reduce the complications and costs associated with heavy dredging of IWT channels.

The problem facing the IWT sector in the country today was the mismatch of available draft in inland water channels and the chosen technology which required draft of 2 m in the channels.

This had made IWT unviable because of exceptionally high costs of maintaining channel depth at 2m.

"Instead of cutting the cloth to suit the user, the approach so long has been to cut the user to suit the cloth", the source said.

In other words, grand plans have been drawn up to dredge or modify natural water channels to 2m depth to suit the limitations of technology rather than attempting to find the right technology for the existing natural channels.

Efforts to modify natural river channels have proved to be frustrating and unviable.

In a related problem, most of the major river channels in the KoPT area were severely eroding their banks because of efforts to modify their channels.

"Instead of fighting nature, technology has to be adapted to work with natural forces and the flow of water in a way that a suitable draft is maintained and the riverbanks are not jeopardised", said a senior geologist based in Kolkata.

The best way to avert riverbank erosion is to clear the natural river channel in the bed and not try to reinforce the banks in an effort to check natural forces, because a well-mainted water channel naturally does not erode the riverbank.