Paradip south docks set for 2012 launch

Paradip Port, ranked seventh among all major ports in the country, plans to commission the Southern Dock System (SDS) by the end of 2011-12.

It will be handling container and POL products.

The port, after the expansion project, will have 15 million tonne traffic handling capacity with two oil berths and one container terminal.

An estimated Rs 530 crore is proposed to be invested in the new dock system.

"The feasibility study is in progress and a formal proposal in this regard will be sent to the Union ministry of shipping in June this year. We plan to commission the Southern Dock System by March 2012", K Raghuramaiah, chairman of Paradip Port Trust (PPT), said.

He said, the SDS will be developed in public private partnership (PPP) and Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) mode.

Stating that the port is well prepared to meet the requirement of various industries coming up in the state, he said, PPT has set a target of doubling the port capacity in next five years.

While the present capacity is 56 million ton, it will be raised to 111 million ton by 2011-12.

Similarly, it expects the cargo handling to increase substantially during this period from 45.88 million ton in 2007-08 to 70 million ton by 2011-12.

Giving details of the projects being implemented by the Port, Raghuramaiah said, the work of the deepening the channel at a cost of Rs 253 crore has been awarded to Dredging Corporation of India in January 2008.

Once this work is completed, the depth of the channel will increase to 17.1 metres from the existing 12.8m.

Similarly, construction of deep draught iron ore berth with back up facilities at an investment of Rs 504.77 crore is expected to be completed by March 2011.

While the request for the proposal (RFP) stage is over, PPT hopes to sign the concession agreement before December 2008.

The construction of deep draught coal berth at an investment of Rs 387.83 crore is also expected to be completed at the same time.

The chairman said, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is going to complete the installation of the single point mooring (SPM) at Paradip soon.

Till the proposed oil refinery of IOC is commissioned, crude oil will be pumped to Haldia through Paradip-Haldia pipeline.

The SPM is expected to be commissioned this month, he pointed out.

On the connectivity front, Raghuramaiah said, the four laning of the Chandikhole-Paradip road, executed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is expected to be completed by June 2008.

Similarly, the work on new railway line between Haridaspur and Paradip has started and it is expected to be completed by June 2010.

Stating that the port has been able to achieve a number of milestones during the last fiscal, he said, the port handled all time record traffic of 42.44 million ton during this period.

This is 10.18 percent higher than the previous fiscal's figures.

Besides, it handled 1636 vessels compared to 1452 vessels in 2006-07.

The port improved its financial performance further with the operating income increasing to Rs 670.47 crore during 2007-08 compared to Rs 640.37 crore in the previous year.

The net surplus was about Rs 194 crore after payment of Rs 112.06 crore as income tax. However, he ruled out any threat to Paradip port from the upcoming ports like Dhamra and Gopalpur.