Kolkata Port

Eastern Freight Corridor cut short; major project runs into land hurdles

The Eastern arm of DFCCIL's Dedicated Freight Corridor has been cut short by 538 km, leaving a key segment unfinished due to land acquisition issues and weakening economic viability

Incessant rain lashes Kolkata, waterlogging in several parts of city

Incessant rain lashed Kolkata and its neighbouring districts on Saturday as a low-pressure area turned into a deep depression, an official said. As a result of the rains, waterlogging was reported from several parts of Kolkata. Similar was the scene in the neighbouring cities of Howrah, Salt Lake and Barrackpore. The situation would remain the same throughout the day, the weather office said. According to the police, ankle-deep water was reported from parts of central and south Kolkata, but traffic movement was not disrupted. Parts of the city experienced up to 7 cm rainfall since Friday afternoon, a weather official said. "The low pressure over Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal turned into a deep depression. It is gradually shifting towards Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This, accompanied by an active monsoon trough over the southern districts of West Bengal, resulted in the rains," he said. The southern districts of Howrah, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, Nadia

Vietnam imports husked brown rice from India for re-exports: Reports

Vietnam, the world's third biggest rice exporter, has imported at least 200,000 metric tons of husked brown rice from India between December and February, the sources said

West Bengal government plans dedicated tea park on Kolkata port land

The land requirement for the project is about 10-12 acres. The SMPK would hand over the lease and the infrastructure would be developed by the state government

Kolkata's air worsens on New Year's Day due to bursting of firecrackers

The air quality in Kolkata worsened on New Year's Day, mainly due to the bursting of firecrackers at midnight, an official of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) said. Immediately after the midnight celebrations, the air quality index (PM 2.5) turned 250 in some southern and northern parts of the city, with smog reminiscent of Kali Puja night. However, it dipped slightly on Monday morning but some places such as Ballygunge and Jadavpur still experienced poor quality air of AQI 281 till 1 pm, the official said. Air monitoring stations at Victoria Memorial recorded marginally better AQI at 199, followed by 161 at Rabindra Sarobar and 152 at Bidhannagar, he said. While an AQI of 200 and above is classified as 'poor', the readings between 100 and 199 are categorised as 'moderate', both causing breathing discomfort to people with lung and heart diseases. Bursting of firecrackers coupled with particulate matters hanging in the air in winter, plus more number of cars hitting

Kolkata Port, NTPC to work together to set up green hydrogen, ammonia hub

Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port (SMP), formerly known as Kolkata Port Trust, and NTPC Green Energy (NGEL), a subsidiary of NTPC Limited, will form a joint working group to set up a green hydrogen and ammonia hub at the port, an official said on Sunday. The MoU between the two public sector entities was signed last week, aiming to explore opportunities for the production, storage, handling, and bunkering of green hydrogen, green ammonia, and its derivatives with the support of the port, the official said. As part of the National Hydrogen Mission, shipping and port operations will play a critical role in driving trade in green energy. Ports are therefore being developed to support the export requirements of green energy. Speaking to PTI, SMP deputy chairman Samrat Rahi said that the scope of the MoU includes forming a joint working group to conduct a feasibility study, identify land for the project, and deliberate on financial models of partnership for the clean energy project here. The

Kolkata Port offers 25% rebate on power charges to boost perishable exports

Kolkata Port, now known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, has offered a 25 per cent waiver on reefer container electricity charges for perishable exports at Kolkata Dock System to attract exporters of eastern and northeastern region who use other ports to ship their cargo, an official said on Sunday. The discount on power for reefers, short for refrigerated containers, will help Kolkata Port to boost exports of perishables considerably from here, the official said. These refrigerated containers play a pivotal role in maintaining the freshness and quality of perishable goods during transportation. "We have the largest infrastructure for reefer container park in the eastern coast and our aim is to take capacity utilisation to 70 per cent in the near term from below 50 per cent now. The rebate benefit will attract more cargo," deputy chairman Samrat Rahi told PTI. Rahi said the discount, which will be available to exporters for a year from now, will put Khidderpore dock in advantageous

Kolkata Port floats EoI for commercial development on riverfront lands

The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port has floated an expression of interest (EOI) for commercial and hospitality projects on riverfront lands in Moyapur, the Noorpur-Hooghly point and Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas district, officials said on Wednesday. The 20.49-acre site at Moyapur is proposed for development of a luxury resort, as it still holds remnants of the old gunpowder magazine built by the British, they said. Records indicate that from June 1, 1803, all ships were asked to store their gunpowder at the new facility in Moyapur, the port's Chairman Rathendra Raman said. He said the project site still has four magazines on the west side, 2 pillbox (guardhouse) on the south and one magazine on the northern side. "The Moyapur magazine site still holds remnants of the old, and exhibits immense potential to be developed as a recreational spot for people of Kolkata and its surroundings, and as a place of historical importance," Raman said. The magazine here refers to an ammunition ..

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, India's oldest, posts highest cargo, surplus

The achievement was on the back of a jump in rail-borne cargo coupled with transhipment operations throughout the year that allowed capesize vessels to come to port

Kolkata Port profit up 152% in FY23; test run to Myanmar's Sittwe port soon

Kolkata port, now known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, on Tuesday announced that it has handled 65.66 million tonnes of cargo in the 2022-23 financial year, up by 12.87 per cent. It clocked a net surplus (profit) of Rs 304 crore in FY'23, increasing by over 152 per cent from Rs 120 crore in the previous fiscal. The port also said a long-awaited trial run to Sittwe Port in Myanmar will be conducted in April with a cargo of 3,000 tonnes of cement. The initiative is part of Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project. The objective of the project is to provide alternative connectivity to the North East region from Kolkata port through Sittwe Port up to Paletwa in Myanmar by waterway and Paletwa to Zorinpui by road in Mizoram. SMP Chairman P L Haranadh attributed the net surplus growth to higher cargo handling, cost-cut measures and reduction in the requirement for contribution to the pension shortfall fund. He also said that provisioning for the pension liability shortfall has bee

Rs 450-cr Balagarh terminal to boost trade at Kolkata port: Official

The proposed night navigation facility at the Kolkata dock system, and the upcoming Rs 450-crore terminal in West Bengal's Balagarh will enhance productivity of the Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port by 30 per cent, a top official said on Sunday. The SMP, earlier known as the Kolkata Port, is working closely with IIT-Chennai and Belgium's Port of Antwerp to roll out night navigation over the next three months, he said. The Balagarh terminal is expected to be operational in the next 24 months. The Balagarh Island lies about 85 km upstream from Kolkata port's main docks on the Inland Waterway-1 in Hooghly district. "The upcoming terminal along with night navigation will significantly enhance the port's productivity. The initial plan was to introduce night navigation until Uluberia, but the port has now decided to extend it until Diamond Harbour, " SMP Deputy Chairman (Kolkata) Samrat Rahi told PTI. At present, the night navigation system is available till Haldia. "It will improve the ...

Kolkata Port registers 14.75% jump in cargo handling in Apr-Jan of FY23

Kolkata Port, now known as the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, on Friday said it has posted a record cargo handling of 54.254 million tonne in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, registering a 14.75 per cent growth over the same period last year. This achievement helped the riverine port rank fifth among Indian major ports, up from its previous sixth position, port chairman P L Haranadh said. SMP Kolkata manages two dock systems-Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) and Kolkata Dock System (KDS). HDC handled 40.162 million tonne of cargo and KDS 14.092 million tonne during the April-January period of the current fiscal. Both the dock system logged year-on-year growth of over 15 per cent, he said. The rail-borne traffic expanded to 28.823 million tonne was a significant factor to the port's achievement. Haranadh attributed diverse and the arrival of new and additional cargo to the record performance. The major commodities that contributed to the growth of traffic were LPG, vegetable oil,

Govt invites EoI for Rs 17,000-cr transhipment port in Nicobar by Jan-end

The transhipment port would enable big ships to anchor and raise India's share in maritime trade, create new job opportunities and save a lot of forex, officials stated

Kolkata Port upbeat with positive outcome of trials through B'desh ports

The mood is upbeat at the Kolkata Port after the successful completion of trials for movement of cargo to the northeastern states using the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route

Kolkata port looking to increase business with Odisha seafood exporters

The Kolkata port is looking to tap into seafood export opportunities from Odisha in a bid to increase the business volume from the region. The port, formally known as the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, held a meeting with the stakeholders of the seafood export sector in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday regarding business prospects and issues faced by them. The officials wanted to get feedback regarding how the port could provide more facilities and improve the services to meet their needs and do better business. "We want to listen to your problems so that we can improve on them," Kolkata port chairperson Vinit Kumar told the exporters at the meet. The port is focusing on how to increase the partnership and develop a very good relationship with the seafood exporters of the region. "We'll try to fulfill your expectations so that both of us can benefit through the valuable partnership, good service and lowering cost," Kumar said. He pointed out that a lot of modernisation and investment in ..

Kolkata port to undertake trial runs for cargo movement using B'desh ports

The Kolkata port will undertake four trial runs before the implementation of an agreement on the use of neighbouring Bangladesh's Chittagong and Mongla ports by India for trade, an official said

Cargo handling at major ports dips 18% to 193 MT in April-July due to Covid

Cargo volumes at these 12 major ports under the control of the Centre declined for the fourth straight month in July 2020 and all ports barring Mormugao saw a negative growth

Container cargo handling at major ports down over 30% in Q1 amid Covid: IPA

In terms of tonnage, the container cargo declined 30.11 per cent to 26.34 million tonnes in the quarter

Millions in cyclone evacuation shelters face Covid-19 contagion risk

Bangladesh ended up evacuating about 2.4 million people, while eastern Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha moved about 700,000 people

Mamata sharing stage with PM during Kolkata port function unclear for now

There was neither any confirmation nor denial on whether Banerjee would attend the programme, said a senior Trinamool Congress leader