BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government is set to renew the concession agreements (CAs) as well as expedite the land acquisition process for 10 Minor Ports along its coast.
“As the Orissa High Court has disposed of the case pertaining to the Non-Major Port projects, we have initiated the process of renewal of the concession agreements,” State Commerce Minister Ramesh Majhi said recently.
He also said the land acquisition process is in full swing for several port projects. The Odisha Government had proposed to set up 13 Minor Ports along its 480-km-long coastline. Of these, only two -Dhamra and Gopalpur -are functional, one has been abandoned due to environmental concerns and no substantial development has taken place at 10 other locations due to several legal and other hurdles.
“We are in the process of renewing the agreements for the Subarnarekha and Astarang Port projects. We will sign an agreement with Aditya Birla Group, which has proposed to set up a port at Chudamani,” the Minister added. He said a discussion at the official level with the proponents of these projects has already been held.
The State Government proposed five ports in Balasore’s Bichitrapur, the Subarnarekha’s confluence, Bahabalpur and Inchudi. This apart, there were proposals for constructing ports at Chudamani and Dhamra in Bhadrak district and at Palur, Gopalpur and the Bahuda’s confluence in Ganjam district, at Astarang and Baliharchandi in Puri district and at Jatadhar in Jagatsinghpur district.
Meanwhile, the decision of the State Government to expedite land acquisition has benefited Tata Steel, which has executed a definitive agreement with Chennai-based Creative Port Development (CPDPL) and their promoters for the proposed development of Subarnarekha Port.
Source: Dailyshippingtimes.com
