Odisha appoints E&Y as financial consultant for riverine port

Port to have total capacity of 55 million tonne

After obtaining government nod for establishment of the maiden riverine port in Odisha on Mahanadi river mouth near Paradeep, the state commerce & transport department has roped in Ernst & Young (E&Y) as the financial consultant for the project.

Earlier, Kolkata-based Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) was chosen as the technical consultant for the riverine port. WAPCOS had pegged the initial capacity of the port at 22 million tonne per annum (mtpa), envisaging its total capacity at 55 mtpa.

The total investment for the port has been estimated at Rs 4,000 crore, out of which around Rs 1,900 crore is slated to be spent in the first phase of the port operations.

The land requirement of the port is around 750 acres. It has been decided to develop the port on both side of the river Mahanadi to cater to the need of upcoming as well as existing plants.

The status of the riverine port was reviewed today by chief secretary J K Mohapatra. It was proposed at the meeting that 200 meter land parallel to the river bank already acquired by Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) will be kept reserved for construction of captive loading unloading berths of Essar Steel and Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (Iffco).

Tendering process for the port is likely to take off by the end of this month.

The Planning Commission is providing hand holding support for the port project. The panel will prepare the model concession agreement and also other documents like Request for Proposal (RFP) and Request for Qualification (RFQ).

The port is set to come up at the Mahanadi river mouth near Paradeep close to the operational facilities of Essar Steel and Iffco.

The riverine port has been envisioned as a common user port for different industries.