Orissa warned against Jatadhari port plan

Proposed port can severely erode coastline: Centre

South Korea's Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) can be forced to postpone its plans of setting up a port at Jatadhari in Orissa. The Centre has warned that the proposed port can lead to severe erosion along the coastline and pose serious threats to the Paradip port.

The development may be a setback for POSCO's plans to build a 3-million tonne capacity steel plant between 2007 and 2010 with a total investment of $12 billion, including an initial investment of $3 billion during the first phase.

This investment is meant for building the necessary infrastructure and logistics such as roads, township, water, power and port in the region. The need for the Jatadhari port, estimated to cost $900 million, was felt as the Paradip port was found wanting in several respects. Jatadhari was planned as a dedicated port for the steel plant.

However, Shipping Minister TR Baalu told the Lok Sabha today the port at Jatadhari might not come up at all.

"The Government of India as well as the Paradip Port Trust have impressed upon the Government of Orissa that the Paradip Port after deepening of its channels will be in a position to develop its deep draft dock system and the facility can be made available on captive basis to POSCO," Baalu said.

The Orissa government has been asked to undertake a detailed study on erosion if the plan to develop a minor port for the Korean steel giant was carried out, Baalu said in a written reply to a query.

Shipping ministry sources added that the port project could spell disaster for the Paradip port as erosion downstream and deposits upstream could wreak havoc on it.

They said the ministry was not against the world's fourth largest steel maker opting for a captive port, but given the sensitivity of the proposed port at Jatadhari, barely 12 km from the Paradip port, the government was compelled to sound a note of caution.

Meanwhile, the steel giant maintains that the Paradip Port does not have the desired tonnage capacity.