| The Prime Ministers office (PMO) and the Union shipping ministry have cleared the proposal put forward by Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and the state government to build a deep sea transhipment facility and jetty south of Sagar Island.
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| Sources in the state government said the PMO and the ministry cleared the proposal last week. The proposed facility was likely to be located south of Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal. The Union government would float a global tender in January for appointment of a consultant to study the feasibility of the project.
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| The West Bengal government would like the global tender to be floated in December 2005, said the source. Sagar Island was earlier projected as the ideal place for a deep-draft port.
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| However, the source said the maximum draft of 10 metres at Sagar was not enough for a deep-draft port. According to the source, the consultant would be asked to identify a location with at least 12-13 metre draft.
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| "This is the minimum draft needed for such a port," the source claimed. The state government would like the study for the proposed port to be completed by end of the second quarter of the next fiscal or September 2006.
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| "The state had asked the Union government to appoint an advisor as early as possible and to take a final decision on this soon," said the source.
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| The consultant would carry out a cost benefit analysis of various locations around Sagar Island. A draft of 15 metre would be ideal but if the cost was too high, the facility could come up with 13 metre draft.
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| The source claimed there was the state government was open to the construction of a a bridge from deep sea facility to the mainland for cargo handling. Some years ago, a proposal to create facilities for handling liquid bulk handling at Digha, now a seaside resort, was proposed. The proposal feel through.
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| The Japan International Cooperation agency (Jica) conducted a pre-feasibility study on deep sea port at Sagar Island some years ago. |
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