New technology to reduce KoPT’s dregding cost by Rs 200 crore

With the help of new technology, the dredging cost of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) would be reduced by Rs 200 crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said.

“KoPT used to spend Rs 450 crore annually towards dredging cost. But with new technology, this cost would be reduced by Rs 200 crore,” Gadkari, Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, said at an interaction organised by MCCI here.

Inaugurating new projects of KoPT's Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), he said that the government was working on improving the network of ports across the country. KoPT chairman R P S Kahlon said that cargo throughout had increased substantially with 22 per cent rise in the first six months of this financial year. HDC handled 25 million tonnes of cargo by railways, adding that coastal share of cargo handlined was 16 per cent.