Dhamra Port CEO allays doubts over project.

The doubts lingering in the minds of the populace of Bhadrak district over the construction of Dhamra port are gradually disappearing.The people had pondered when the railway tracks are going to be laid, when the Government would acquire their land. But all these doubts were removed by the Chief Executive Officer of Dhamra Port, Santosh Mahapatram at a Press conference on Sunday.

In 1998, the then Chief Minister JB Patnaik had laid the foundation of the Dhamra - Chandbali port. However, the project construction is in full swing from 2005 in a joint collaboration of Tata and L & T at an estimated cost of Rs 2,400 crore. The port is expected to be functional from 2010. Tata and L and T are investing Rs 600 crore and the rest of the funds are being generated from the national and international market.Nearly 1,100 crore would be invested in construction of the port and berths. But due to the delay by the construction company in laying railway lines connecting the port there is a delay in construction of berths. In the initial phase the port would have a capacity of 13 million tonnes and from 2013 and 2015 the capacity would increase to 25 million tones.

After the construction of the port, ships carrying 180 thousand tones capacity can use the port. More than Rs 550 crore would be spent in the initial phase for dredging of the port. Mahapatra informed that the construction of Kirtania and Chudamani port which would be coming up in the State would be an expensive proposition.The Dhamra port which would be the second largest port in Asia would have a channel of 18 km. After Dhamra the distance of the deep sea increases from the coast. For that reason while a 18 km channel is needed for Dhamra for ships to come in, it is 30 km for Chudamani , 40 km for Kirtania and 60 km for Haldia port.

On the other hand the port authorities have signed an agreement for the safety of olive ridley turtles at Gahirmatha and Babubali.The port authorities have tied up with international organisation IUCN which would suggest how the dredging work would be carried out, in what routes the ships would navigate and what would be the lighting facilities for the port. The environmental protection for the turtles would be monitored by IUCN, informed Mahapatra.