Bengal Ports to sign final pact for Kulpi port, SEZ soon

SHIPPING

A consortium led by P&O Ports, Bengal Ports Ltd (BPL), is expected to sign the final agreement with the government of West Bengal, within a few weeks, to develop a container port and a special economic zone (SEZ) at Kulpi, 60km south of Kolkata.

The twin projects would require an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore. The consortium would build two container terminals and associated facilities at the site, adjacent to a 3,000 hectare SEZ.

Two separate companies would be responsible for the twin projects which would be developed simultaneously. On its part, the state government would procure land for the port and the SEZ.

There would be no subsidy element in the land procurement arrangement. The developers will pay the land cost at market rates. The state government will develop road connectivity to Kulpi. The developed road would connect the port and SEZ to Kolkata's second Hoogly Bridge, which leads to national highways 2 (to Delhi) and 6 (to Mumbai and Chennai).

The port development would cost around Rs 600 crore. The cost of the SEZ was estimated to be around Rs 400 crore, both excluding the cost of land.

Sources said the viability of each project is inter depended. The port would act as a captive port for the SEZ. The consortium was not banking on external cargo generated from the larger hinterland outside the port and SEZ.

Besides, the port at Kulpi was expected to pose a challenge for the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) since the newer operations were likely to have a lower cost structure.

Realising the threat, KoPT launched a campaign last week to get more container cargo from the hinterland. It announced a 60 per cent discount on container cargo at the Kolkata Dock System.