Gopalpur port gets much awaited environment nod

The environment and forests ministry has given a nod for the expansion of Gopalpur port project in Orissa, a port official said Thursday. “We received a communication from the ministry in this regard late Wednesday,” P.K. Panigrahi, executive director of the Gopalpur Port Limited (GPL) that is setting up the project, told IANS. The port, about 170 km from here, is a seasonal port operational from November to March and handles cargo, including iron ore, coal and fertilizer ranging from half a million tonnes to 0.7 million tonnes. “The ministry has granted the permission to make it an all-weather port,” Panigrahi said, adding that the construction for the expansion of the project will start within a month and complete within 24 months. The company has planned to invest Rs.1,250 crore initially. The port will have an installed capacity of handling at least 12 millions tonnes cargo by 2013 and aims to increase the capacity to handle 54-60 million tones per annum by 2022, the official said. Initially, the port has planned to receive vessel size of one lakh DWT (Deadweight tonnage) and after enhancement of the capacity it will be able to receive vessel size of 130,000 DWT, he said.

Source: Thaindian News