SAIL proposes a port in Odisha
Ports and waterways, Railways, SAIL May 3rd. 2010, 12:06pmFollowing is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.
With expansion of its units in eastern India in pipelines, public sector steel major, SAIL today evinced keen interest in setting up a port in Orissa, official sources said.
A delegation of Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) top executives today met chief secretary T K Mishra and other senior officers here to seek the state government’s assistance for the proposed port by the steel giant.
We have assured the SAIL officials of all help if they are keen for a port project," Chief Secretary T K Mishra told reporters, adding that the proposed port would help the public sector to transport coal for its requirement. The proposed port having a capacity of handling 20 million tonnes of cargo would be located anywhere in the state’s 480 KM coastline, Mishra said.
The state government had asked SAIL to find any of the 13 places already identified by the state’s transport and commerce department for setting up a port.
The interest in ports in Odisha is due to the mining belt and the related industrial belt in Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. These ports will help the growth of the coastal parts of Odisha. Odisha should leverage these ports to develop communication channles (especially railway lines such as Talcher-Bimlagarh, Khurda Balangir, Gopalpur-Rayagada, Chakulia-Buramara) as well as some logistics hubs in appropriate places in the western parts of Odisha such as Titlagarh and Jharsuguda.
May 4th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Well once the Talcher-Bimlagarh line is functional i am sure it will make a big diffrence to Western Orissa in general and Rourkela in particular.Develoment will start from all corners.What is required at the moment is that SAIL should put pressure on Railways to get the line functinal asap.
May 6th, 2010 at 7:53 am
Assuming that there were no minerals Odisha coast would still rise as the trading gateway for Indian subcontinent.Reason is rapid rise of south east asia and China.As trade with those countries rise eastern coast starts gaining importance in trading activity.
Indian west coast’s fate depends on trade from west whereas east coast from east. In the east coast Orissa has 3 competetors, TamilNadu, Andhra, west Bengal.Sea Transportation is far cheaper than land-based transportation.Major markets in North India is far closer to Orissa than TamilNadu and Andhra.West bengal Coast isn’t the most naturally predisposed towards constructing and maintaining a port.They have a much narrower coast line.That leaves Orissa as the most suitable place to build your port.Private enterpreneurs know and recognize this and therefore the madrush to open ports.
Orissa’s rise in Indian subcontinent’s economic firmament is a foregone conclusion, it will happen.The fact there is a commodity bull market and Orissa is minerally rich will make this rise even faster.
May 6th, 2010 at 8:05 am
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers34%5Cpaper3364.html