___________

Following are excerpts from a report in Business Standard.

"The Government of India has announced a major policy initiative to offer Viability Gap Finding (VGF) for providing road and rail connectivity to the minor ports. As per this policy, the Government of India will bear 50 per cent of the cost for the road and rail infrastructure, the state government will provide 30 per cent while the remaining 20 per cent will be borne by the port developers”, G K Dhal, principal secretary (commerce & transport) said.

For the proposed port at Bichitrapur in Balasore district, the road connectivity would be between Jaleshwar and Bichitrapur while the rail connectivity would be from Digha to Bichitrapur.Similarly, for the port proposed at Subarnarekha mouth, also in Balasore district, the road connectivity is proposed between Basta and Choumukha whereas the rail connectivity would be from Haldipada to Choumukha.

The road connectivity for the Dhamara port in Bhadrak district has been envisaged from Jamujhadi on NH-5 to the port site. The rail link is being developed between Bhadrak and Dhamara.

… "The Orissa government has also proposed an industrial corridor on the Meramandali-Angul-Talcher-Chhendipada belt linking the coal mines, power plants and steel plants. Rail India Technical & Economic Services (Rites), the consultancy arm of Indian Railways, has submitted a draft feasibility report in this regard which is under the scrutiny of the state government. The Orissa government intends to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the purpose. This common corridor will be co-habited by multiple players and can be financed by participative funding”, he added.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

Jindal Infrastructure Limited, a JSW Group Company, which proposed to up a Rs 2238-crore captive deep sea port at Bichitrapur in Orissa’s Balsore district, has targeted to achieve a cargo throughput of 10 million tonne per annum (mtpa) in the first phase.

The company will invest Rs 550 crore in the first phase which is scheduled for commissioning by 2013. The port’s cargo handling is projected to reach 20 mtpa in the second phase to be operational by 2013 and 45 mtpa by 2020.

JSW Infrastructure will invest Rs 750 crore and Rs 938 crore in the second phase and third phase respectively.

The port will handle cargo like coking coal, thermal coal, met coke, dolomite limestone, iron ore, finished steel products, bauxite, gypsum and clinker.

Out of the total investment of Rs 2238 crore, JSW will invest Rs 230 crore on land development, Rs 243 crore on berths, Rs 120 crore on breakwaters and embankments, Rs 900 crore on dredging and Rs 366 crore on handling equipment.

Besides, Rs 150 crore will be invested on railway and road network while Rs 69 crore is earmarked for buildings and workshops.

The port project will generate direct employment for 500 besides creating indirect employment avenues for 5000 others.

… The port will have a maximum draft of 18 metres.

As per the land use plan of the project, the port back-up area including approaches will be 3500 acres, out of which 2500 acres will be developed through reclamation using dredged material and the balance 1000 acres will be provided by the state government.

… JSW has assured to develop the port at Bichitrapur as per the amended CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone) norms.

The company will prepare the Environment Management Plan for the project.

The port will be located at a distance of 35 km from the rail link, 30 km from the nearest National Highway (NH-60) and seven km from the nearest state highway (SH-4).

JSW’s port will have a multiplier effect as it will encourage port-based industries like apparel parks, forging industry, leather industry as well as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries.

Update:Tathya has a recent report on who is pursuing which port. Following is a table based on that info.

Following is from a report in Telegraph.

Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group is close to getting an approval from the Orissa government to build a port for its 10-million-tonne steel plant in Bengal.

The group has pitched for 4 out of the 12 bids offered by the Orissa government to investors for developing a port in the state.

Information trickling in from the government indicate that JSW may get the approval to build a port in Baleshwar district on the Bengal-Orissa border, south of Digha.

The port will cater to the upcoming steel plants in Bengal and Jharkhand.

Biswadip Gupta, joint managing director of JSW Bengal Steel Ltd, said the port would be closer to the project site than Haldia. “It will be about 110 km from our plant at Salboni in West Midnapur compared with a distance of 130 km from Haldia,” he said.

Note that there has been interest from others on a port in Kirtania. In particular, Creative ports signed an MOU about a port in Kirtania with Orissa government in 2006. Is JSW talking about a port in Kirtania or between Kirtania and Digha?