Kolkata port readies for ₹800-cr improve

In an formidable endeavour, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK), plans to reconstruct and mechanise two container berths on the Netaji Subhash Dock of the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) inside two years.

SMPK goals to award the ₹800-plus crore public-private partnership (PPP) tasks within the subsequent three months.

The Ministry of Ports, Transport and Waterways had earlier this month accepted the tasks for the re-construction of berth No. 8 and the mechanisation of berth No. 7 and eight on the Netaji Subhash Dock. The inspiration stone for the undertaking was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 1.

Shorter anticipate ships

“The tasks for the re-construction and mechanisation of berths at Netaji Subhash Dock of Kolkata Dock System are part of the federal government’s drive to boost container and cargo dealing with capability, and additional mechanisation of SMPK. Tender for the tasks has already been floated. We wish to full the tender course of and award the tasks inside the subsequent three months,” says SMPK chairman Rathendra Raman.

The tasks will likely be executed on a ‘design, construct, finance, function, and switch’ (DBFOT) mode.

“After the completion of the tasks, the container dealing with capability of berth No. 7 and eight at Netaji Subhash Dock will stand at 0.48 million TEUs. Later, it may possibly go as much as 0.78 million TEUs. Beneath this undertaking, three rail-mounted quay cranes will likely be put in. It can cut back the detention time of ships on the dock and improve effectivity,” Raman says. 

Sagarmala tasks

Consisting of two dock techniques, KDS and Haldia Dock Complicated, SMPK, previously often called Kolkata Port Belief, has a mixed cargo dealing with capability of round 87.5 million tonnes (MT).

The port authorities plan to extend the mixed capability to 115 MT by 2030 via 15 PPP tasks. Three tasks, value ₹733 crore, have been awarded, whereas the remainder, cumulatively value round ₹5,200 crore, are within the pipeline.

In West Bengal, the Sagarmala programme for port-led infrastructure growth oversees 62 tasks valued at ₹16,300 crore, of which 19 tasks value roughly ₹1,100 crore have been accomplished and the remainder are in varied levels of implementation.