The Kolkata port on Thursday stated an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the nation’s first mega container transhipment port at Galathea Bay in Great Nicobar Islands is predicted to be floated by January-end, a senior official stated.
There is not any giant container transhipment port in India and all worldwide container cargo has to go to Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang in Malaysia.
“This Rs 17,000 crore port will help transhipment of cargo from the entire east coast of India as well as from Bangladesh and Myanmar,” P L Haranadh, Chairman of Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK), previously Kolkata Port Trust, stated right here.
Union Minister of State for Port and Shipping Shantanu Thakur paid a go to to Andaman and Nicobar Island not too long ago to preview improvement actions deliberate for the islanders with port-related infrastructure.
Haranadh stated, “The authorities is planning to construct a container transhipment port on the southernmost tip of Andaman and Nicobar Islands at Galathea Bay. SMPK will float an EoI from buyers by the top of January.”
The transhipment port would allow large ships to anchor and lift India’s share in maritime commerce, create new job alternatives and save numerous foreign exchange, officers said.
“The EoI will assist us search their suggestions from international port operators, maritime service majors and transport liners. After this course of, an in depth Detailed Project report shall be ready for the venture for looking for bids,” Haranadh instructed reporters after a stakeholders assembly.
SMPK Deputy Chairman A Okay Mehra stated a draft venture was despatched to the Centre for approval and as soon as that comes, EoI shall be floated.
In the primary part, the size of the jetty shall be 1.6 kilometres and can have a capability of 4.3 million TeUs (Tonne equal) containers. Later, it will be ramped as much as 16 million TeUs through the years.
India has an International Container Transhipment Terminal at Kochi in Kerala however it has not taken off as anticipated, Mehra stated including that its scale is way decrease than the proposed port within the Nicobar Islands.
Asked whether or not SMPK would be the executing company for the venture, officers said that now the port has been requested to drift the EoI, put together an in depth venture report and search requests for proposals.
The pure depth obtainable at Galathea Bay shall be 20 meters. It will provide two geographical benefits—proximity to the busy east-west worldwide transport route that may facilitate shorter transits and better economies of scale, together with deep pure water depths that may accommodate the newest era of mega-ships.
The formidable improvement plan for Great Nicobar Islands by NITI Aayog, which incorporates an airport, a port, a speedy transport system, and a commerce complicated, might even see an general funding of Rs 40,000 crore, Harandh stated.
Galathea Bay lies on the southernmost tip of Indian territory and is the nesting place for Leatherbacks, the world’s largest sea turtles, on its shores.
According to stories, in January 2021, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), denotified the whole Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to take away environmental hurdles for the development of a transhipment port.
Meanwhile, Thakur stated initiatives in SMPK valued at Rs 900 crore are underneath implementation and others price one other Rs 3,300 crore are within the last stage of tendering.
By 2025, Kolkata Port capability shall be ramped as much as 110 million tonnes from the present 87 million tonnes.
The Haldia multi-modal terminal being carried out by the Inland Waterways Authority of India shall be inaugurated on Friday. It will increase cargo motion by way of inland waterways to the northeastern area and Bangladesh from Haldia port which is underneath SMPK.
