K'taka keen on international shipyard

Suggests locations near Tadri, Belekeri ports in Uttara Kannada district.

Aiming to make its coastal economy more buoyant, the Karnataka government has pitched for the setting up of a shipyard of international size in its waters.

In a proposal forwarded recently to the Centre, the state government has suggested Tadri and Belekeri ports on its 320 km coastline as ideal locations for establishing the shipyard that can build and repair ships up to the size of Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with a carrying capacity of 300,000 tonnes.

Speaking to Business Standard, a public works department official who did not want to be identified said: "We are quite confident that the Centre will act positively on our request for the shipyard of global standards. We already have several mega projects in power and petrochemical sector lined up for our coastline, another addition in the form of shipyard will take the coastal economy to the next higher level."

Karnataka's interest in the shipyard business started after the Union ministry of shipping, road transport and highways sent directive last year to all maritime states to identify locations for setting up international-size shipyards, one each on the West coast and East coast respectively.

For each shipyard, the Centre had envisaged a minimum land requirement of 1,000 - 1,500 acres and a waterfront of about 2.5 km in length, a water draft of 10-12 metres and a good rail-road connectivity.

The shipyard would be located in a place where the water depth at the jetty is 10-12 metres and there are at least two big dry docks for building and repair along with a quayside length of 2.5 kms and other infrastructure support facilities for building and assembly of ships.

Taking note of the Centre's conditions, the state government officials zeroed in on the Kundle beach near Tadri port and and Honne beach near Belekeri port out of the 10 ports along the state's coastline. Tadri, which is located in Uttara Kannada district, is one of the ports that has a great potential for growth as the Konkan railway line and National Highway-17 are quite close to it. Belekeri port is located 26 km south of Karwar and has vast stacking area and a good network of roads.

"But we are yet to get a clear picture on the funding pattern for the shipyard project. The Centre is currently engaged in choosing the ideal location," the official said.

The Centre has appointed Ennore Port Limited and Mumbai Port Trust as nodal agencies for the project and has authorised the two appointed consultants to suggest optimal locations with detailed justification. Though Karnataka is quite optimistic about the project, its ability to lock in the deal hinges on its relations with the Centre.

For, Karnataka faces competition from Kerala and Gujarat on the same front. While Kerala has identified Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram district on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border for the shipyard, Gujarat has proposed stretches like Salaya, Jodiya, Mundra, Chanch, Pipavav and Tuna along its coastline as ideal locations.

This apart, Karnataka also has to convince the environmentalists in the state who have been opposing mega infrastructure projects near the Western Ghats, one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world. For instance, the 4,000 Mw ultra mega thermal power project proposed at Tadri village has been mired in controversy following opposition from environmentalists and local politicians.