The environment ministry's rejection to the proposal to build a port at Positra has not only given a setback to Port of Rotterdam's plans to set up operations in India, it has also washed away Gujarat government's aim to set up yet another LNG terminal.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told mediapersons on Tuesday that the National Board of Wildlife has shot down the major proposal of Positra Port in Gujarat as it would devastate fragile marine eco-system in the Gulf of Kutch. Asserting that the rejection was based on the ground realities, Ramesh said his Ministry was not a "rubber stamp" and the approval was given only when there was overwhelming requirement.
Port of Rotterdam, Europe's leading port, had last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gujarat government to develop the proposed greenfield site for an estimated investment of Rs 5,000 crore.
For this, Rotterdam had joined hands with Nikhil Gandhi controlled Sea King Infrastructure Ltd (SKIL) and Port of Sohar.
Chief minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting with a senior delegation including officials from Port of Rotterdam and Port of Sohar and SKIL in 2008, had asked the consortium to set up an LNG terminal at Positra, said sources close to the development.
“A team of technical experts was also roped in to carry out due diligence of the site for setting up an LNG terminal. The study was to find out the capacity of the terminal, the cost of the project, sourcing of gas, the market size and so on,” said government sources privy to the development.
Gujarat houses the country's two operational LNG terminals at Dahej and Hazira, operated by Shell and Petronet LNG respectively. While one more LNG terminal has been planned at Mundra by GSPC in association with Adani group, the developers of Pipavav Port, APM Moller Maersk and Swan Energy, have put their project on hold.
In 1996, Gandhi, through an entity called Anchor group, had prepared a roadmap to develop Positra as the country's first port-based Special Economic Zone. At one point of time, the project, a brainchild of Gandhi was touted as country's first SEZ.
The project has been facing a green hurdle for a long time as it was lying in the vicinity of Marine National Park at Jamnagar and could devastate fragile marine eco-system in the Gulf of Kutch.
Last year, the state government had started acquisition of land in and around Positra for the port project. This had however resulted in local unrest as the landowners were seeking for a better bargain. Some of the landowners had even taken the matter to the court, said sources in the know of the development.
Positra was conceived as a major cargo terminal project which, if materialised would have given stiff competition to Adani’s Mundra Port and Kandla Port, said industry sources privy to the development.
In 2009, a delegation led by Oman commerce minister Maqbook Ali Sultan along with representatives from Port of Sohar and Port of Rotterdam held a meeting with the chief minister and discussed the uncertainty shrouding Positra port project due to environmental hurdles. The delegation had invited the CM to Sohar City. Later on, there were reports that Modi who was on his way to Russia would also visit Oman.
Following this, an advertisement was issued in a leading national daily by the Oman government that they did not invite Modi to Oman and that the chief minister was on a private visit.
Meanwhile, in January this year, Port of Rotterdam had dashed off a letter to Gujarat Maritime Board, to re-validate the terms of the MoU which was to expire on January 12.
The developers sought extension for a year’s time as they were yet to get environmental clearances without which they could not get the shareholders’ approval, a senior official from Rotterdam had written.
The project remained at the drawing board stage, the letter stated.
