By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Chairman of Jindal Steel & Power (JSP), Shri Naveen Jindal, performed Bhoomi Puja on Thursday to commence construction work for the Western Dock of Paradip Port. Chairman of Paradip Port Shri PL Haranadh, IRTS, and other senior officials of the port were present on the occasion.
Last year, a JSP-led consortium won the bid to build a 25-million-tonne (MT) capacity dry bulk cargo terminal at the western dock of Paradip Port. A special purpose vehicle, Jindal Paradip Port Limited (JPPL), has been formed by the leading steel major Jindal Steel & Power and Jindal Port Private for this project. The foundation stone for the development of Western Dock was laid by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on October 17, 2023, during the third edition of the Global Maritime Summit 2023 held in Mumbai.
“The new Western Dock will be developed as the most modern terminal and will greatly enhance the current and expansion capabilities of large industries in the hinterlands of Odisha. It is expected to have a significant boost on economic activity and employment in Odisha and beyond,” said Shri Jindal.
JPPL will invest about Rs 3,392 crore for this development of the western dock of the Paradip Port. The first phase of the project, with a capacity of 12.5 MTPA, is expected to be operational in early 2025.
The project involves building five berths, carrying out 17 million cubic metres of capital dredging, laying 25 km of railway track, installing five ship unloaders of high capacity, six stacker reclaimer machines to handle bulk cargo, 14 km of efficient conveyor system, two silos of each 4000 tonne capacity to load coal in railway waggons, two mechanised waggon loaders to load lime stone in railway waggons, and facilities for steel cargo handling.
The overall capacity of the Western Dock Project is 25 MTPA, and with efficient cargo handling operations, the capacity can reach up to 30 MTPA.
