BL reported that the work on coal and iron ore berths at the Paradip port, already delayed by two years, is expected to start shortly.

Mr GJ Rao chairman of Paradip Port Trust told Business Line that “The forest clearance from the Orissa Government will be available by the end of this month and final clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests by August 31, and hopefully the work will start in September. We now see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Mr Rao observed that “It will be at least another six months or so before various statutory clearances become available.”

The two berths, each with the capacity of 10 million tonnes, are estimated to cost about INR 900 crore.

The implementation will be through the PPP route and accordingly, two concessional agreements were signed one in July 2009 with Blue Water Iron Ore Terminal Pvt Ltd, a special purpose vehicle of the Nobel Group, for the iron ore berth; and the other in November 2009 with Essar Paradip Terminals, the SPV floated by the Essar Group, for the coal berth.

Meanwhile, the public hearing for environmental clearance for multipurpose berth and oil jetty was held recently.

(Sourced from Business Line)