The decks have been finally cleared for developing the minor, seasonal port at Gopalpur into an all-weather port with the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) giving its green signal for the port project.
“We came to know of the environment clearance granted to the port project on Tuesday evening. The official documents are likely to reach very soon”, said M M Moharana, one of the directors of Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL), a special purpose vehicle formed for developing the port.
Following the nod of MoEF, construction work on the port project would take off very soon.
The port project, entailing an investment of Rs 3,500 crore, would be developed in phases, and would handle 54 million tones of cargo.
In the first phase, GPL will invest around Rs 1,400 crore to handle five million tonnes of cargo in the next two years.
The state government had requested the MoEF to clear the project following the recommendation of the Orissa State Coastal Zone Management Authority (OSCZMA) in 2009.
GPL, which was originally a consortium of three companies, had signed MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Orissa government in 2006 to develop the Gopalpur port into an all-weather port.
The defunct port had started operations within three months of signing of the pact.
The port expansion, however, hit a roadblock when several environmentalists and wildlife activists opposed the port project, alleging that it would endanger the mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles at the mouth of Rushikulya river.
The port project was also mired in uncertainty for a while when Hong Kong based Noble Group, one of the consortium partners, pulled out of the project.
Following the exit of the Noble Group, two companies- Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) and Sara International Limited (SIL) would develop the port project.
GPL has already claimed to have achieved financial closure of Rs 1,400 crore for the first phase of the deep sea port with the signing of loan agreement with a consortium of 11 banks.
The estimated cost of the first phase of the project is pegged at Rs 1,400 crore. While the banks would offer a loan amount of Rs 848.78 crore for the port project, the balance amount would be met through internal accruals.
