October 14, 2008

JSW Steel may develop deep sea port in West Bengal

Steel major JSW Steel Group has announced that it would look into the possibility of setting up a deep sea port in West Bengal.

Mr Sajan Jindal vice CMD of JSW Steel, after meeting Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee chief minister of West Bengal, said that "The chief minister asked us to carry out the study for the port. We will start work from February itself.”

Mr Jindal added that "The port will be good enough for 20 million tonnes of cargo annually and that will have a draft of 18 meters.” Mr Jindal indicated that the investment in the port would be INR 2,000 crore.

JSW Steel has developed three ports in Goa, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. This would, however, be first time the group will foray into deep sea port.

Earlier, the Union shipping ministry had invited expressions of interest from global consultants for the state government’s port idea, backed by INR 10 crore funds released for the purpose by finance minister P Chidambaram in the Union budget for 2006-07 but nothing has happened so far.

A deep sea port could boost West Bengal’s industrialization drive since the existing docks at Calcutta and Haldia, built along a river, are too shallow for large ships.