Port is a critical infrastructure for exports and imports. Orissa, a principal maritime state, has a coastline of 480 km and is endowed with conducive, unique, strategic and natural port locations. Among the 12 major ports in India, one major port, Paradeep, is in Orissa. The port offers tremendous opportunities for International trade.
Paradeep Port is the main port for trade from the Eastern part of the country – serving the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
The natural resources and industrial products in this rich hinterland are immense and the value of the ore trade of the country passing through the Paradeep Port is considerably higher than many other major ports of India. The port was opened to traffic for iron ore in 1966 but after three decades, the cargo profile has undergone a complete transformation. Besides iron ore, the current cargo mix includes :
Chrome ore, Manganese ore
Semi-processed ore cargo like charge chrome, ferro chrome, ferro manganese, limestone, hard coke, ingots and moulds, billets and steel materials, dead-burnt magnetite, scrap
Fertilizer
Food grains
Reefer cargo
Fertilizer raw materials e.g. phosphoric acid, ammonia, sulphur, rock phosphate
The port is located 210 nautical miles south of Calcutta and 260 nautical miles north of Visakhapatnam.
Facilities at Paradip Port
Paradeep Port is capable of handling almost all types of cargo. The facilities available are:
Iron & Ore Berths
Cargo Berths
Container Handling Equipments
Storage
The quantity of cargo handled by Paradeep Port over the last five years has been increasing steadily as shown below in the table–
Year
Quantity Exported
Quantity Imported
Total Quantity (In lakh MT)
1999-00
88.60
47.76
136.36
2000-01
130.52
68.40
198.92
2001-02
144.69
66.62
211.31
2002-03
169.10
69.91
239.01
2003-04
186.06
67.05
253.11
Source- Paradeep Port Trust, Paradeep
Competitive Advantage of Paradeep Port
Major Port with natural draught of 13 meters., capable of handling Panamax vessels, 14 berths : 2 captive for fertiliser & 1 oil jetty
Private investment in pipeline for development of dedicated berth
DAP plants of PPL and IFFCO, Cargil International, CP Coke of Goa Carbon existing
IOC refinery cum petrochemical complex of 15 million MTpa capacity with investment of $6 billion under implementation
POSCO & associated industrial complex under implementation
ESSAR, Deepak Fertilisers, & LHOIST (Belgium) are proposed
Adequate land available in proximity to the Port
Air connectivity at Bhubaneswar – 119 km from Paradeep
New rail link is being planned through PPP. Roads to Paradeep are being widened to 4 lane
Other Ports/Minor Ports
Sites, which have been identified for minor ports developments are given below:
Sl. No
Name of the Port
District
Status
1
Dhamra Port
Bhadrak
Being developed under the Joint Venture of L&T & Tata Steel.
2
Kirtania
Balasore
MOU signed between state government and Creative Port Development Company ltd., Chennai
3
Palur
Ganjam
State Government plans to develop these minor ports
4
Bali-Harichandi
Puri
5
Astarang
Puri
6
Bahuda muhan
Ganjam
7
Chudamani
Bhadrak
8
Inchuri
Balasore
9
Chandipur
Balasore
10
Bahabalpur
Balasore
11
Jatadhar Muhan
Jagatsinghpur
Source- Government of Orissa Port Policy
Gopalpur port
Gopalpur port in Ganjam district has been operating as a minor port but it operates only during fair weather. Considering the requirements of port-based steel plants and other industries which are coming up near the port, it has been decided to develop Gopalpur port into an all-weather port through private investment. Accordingly, the state government has signed an MOU with a private company to develop this port. There are possibilities for the development of some other minor ports in the Orissa.
Salient Features of Gopalpur Port
Deep Draught Port is being developed with private sector investment
1300 hectare land close to Port readily available
Connected to Kolkata-Chennai National rail grid. Rail connectivity to mine hinterland of south Orissa proposed
200 MW of power system available
Gopalpur Airfield for small aircrafts available
Air connectivity at Bhubaneswar – 179 km
18 MGD water supply system under development
Technical Education & Training Facilities available
Advantages of Gopalpur Port:
Lower tariff for port usage
Lower freight movement charges with a user-SPV being formed (Similar to Paradeep-Haridaspur) to develop Therubali-Gunupur rail line: higher axle load capacity can also be planned.
Lower turnaround time at new port vis-à-vis Vizag port
Higher tonnage vessels at Gopalpur because of superior draught as compared to Vizag
Salient Features of Dhamra Port
Greenfield Port under development over 500 Hectares of land by Dhamra Port Co. Ltd.-A Joint Venture of L&T and Tata Steel
Being developed as the deepest port with 18 meter draught capable of handling 1,80,000 DWT vessels
Expected to be completed by September, 2008
Adequate land, fresh water & power available in proximity to the Port
Air connectivity at Bhubaneswar – 200 km
Dedicated road connecting NH-5 on the Golden Quadrilateral
Dedicated rail link connecting to Howrah-Chennai national rail grid
Nearby to the proposed national gas grid being planned by GAIL
The government of Orissa has already formulated a Port Policy which lays down the path for the development of ports and other associated infrastructure, for promoting industry, trade and commerce.
