Kolkata: Syama Prasad Mookherje Port (SMP), Kolkata, has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) inviting suggestions from private developers having relevant technical expertise, financial capability and operational experience for the development, operations and maintenance of Balagarh Barge Terminal under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.
In order to cope with the projected increase in traffic and to overcome the problem of restricted cargo movement within the city limits, the Port intends to shift part of its operations to Balagarh, a site 45 nautical miles upstream of Kolkata. It was learnt that Balagarh Island has a total land area of about 900 acres. The ownership is shared by the port, Bengal government and CESC Ltd. The Port owns about 308.75 acres of land on this island.
Port authorities are of the opinion that shifting part of its operation to Balagarh from the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) will steer away such cargo whose hinterland is located far away from Kolkata Port limits and which does not necessarily need to pass through the city’s busy and congested road traffic. According to Port authorities: “The traffic at the Kolkata Port, especially Kolkata Dock System has seen a steady growth in the past 5 years. The Port authority expects a rise in container and general cargo volumes in upcoming years. The Port’s present cargo volume itself had been straining due to the city’s road network.
This has made the local traffic authorities impose time restrictions on the movement of cargo vehicles on Kolkata roads. Cargo evacuation is likely to become a key challenge for handling the increasing traffic at the Port.”
As to the details of the proposed project, two dedicated berths for container and coal have been planned commensurate with 85000 TEU (1.1 MTPA) container traffic and 1.6 MTPA coal traffic. The total capacity of the terminal works for two berths works out to be about 2.7 MTPA. Since there is a three-metre draft available in the navigation channel from KDS to Balagarh, the Port is looking for barges of specific designs that will suit the purpose.