Kalpasar project gets rolling

The ambitious, multi-crore Gulf of Cambay development project, known as the Kalpasar project, finally moved off the blocks on Wednesday with the beginning of the Pathymetry survey to ascertain the kind of ocean floor off the Bhavnagar coast.

The Rs 54,000-crore project, envisaged 18 years ago, is expected to take eight years to complete. The project will also generate 5,880 MW.

The Pathymetry survey for the project was kicked off today by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, three nautical miles off the Nava Bander coastline in Bhavnagar district.

The Pathymetry survey will be carried out by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT). After the survey the main work of the proposed 64 kilometre-long dam will be initiated. Once completed, this will be the biggest dam of its kind in the world.

The project will be developed through the participation of public and private sectors. The entire Kalpasar project has been divided into six segments, namely, power, roads, shiplocks, ports, development of lands and adventure tourism.

The state government plans to seek technical assistance from several international organisations in due course.

Besides, financial assistance will be sought from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to complete the project. The process of seeking WB and ADB assistance will be initiated once the report is completed.

The work of topographic survey of the area around the Gulf of Cambay, which will be reclaimed as part of the project, is also under progress.

Harsh Gupta, secretary Department of Ocean Development, who was present at Wednesday's function, said, "The survey which has been kicked off today will ascertain the exact area and the point-to-point where the dam can be stretched. We soon will set up an branch of NIOT in Gujarat specifically for developing the Kalpasar project".

The area of Kalpasar reservoir will be 2000 square kilometres and will store more water than all the existing major, medium and minor dams in the state. It will store three times the water in Sardar Sarovar reservoir.

The stored fresh water will be used to irrigate 10.54 lakh hectare of cultivable land of south Saurashtra through a proposed 660-kilometre canal from Barvala in Bhavnagar district to Maliya in Rajkot district. The canal is expected to increase agriculture production in Gujarat to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore annually.

Chief minister Narendra Modi said, "Eighteen years ago, this project was conceived by Dr Anil Kane, a professor of MSU, Vadodara, but successive governments in the past lacked the vision to implement it." Once the project is implemented, the distance between south Gujarat and Mumbai will be decreased by 225 kilometres through provision of road and rail network over the dam."

He said the distance between Amreli and Surat will be covered in four and a half hours.

Anil Kane, who conceived the project close to two decades ago, said, " The project has tremendous potential for public-private partnership in power generation, water supply, transportation and navigation. Once implemented, the project is destined to fulfill my long borne wishes."

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, Nirma group chairman Karsanbhai Patel and state petro chemical and energy minister Saurabh Dalal attended the function.