Fifteen Ports on a 480-km-long coastline?that’s how ambitious Orissa is. Preparing to throw open its third port, Dhamra, to the world this month-end, the state has earmarked at least 12 more potential sites for development as ports. Just for comparison, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh together don’t have or plan to have even half as many ports. But Orissa?s desire to become a maritime trade hub has met with several hurdles. At least four planned ports have hit a wall of uncertainty, with the defence ministry objecting against having commercial ports on security grounds. Sensitive defence organisations are located on the Orissa coast? the defence ministry has its proof test range at Chandipur and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) its Interim Missile Test Range at Wheeler Island.

?The defence ministry is of the view that there should not be any port between the mouth of the Subarnarekha and Dhamra,? says Orissa commerce and transport minister Sanjib Sahu, adding, ?This would mean that the state would have to do away with four sites?Bahabalpur, Chandipur, Inchudi and Chudamani.? The defence ministry apart, the green lobby, too, is against such aggressive port development plans. Commercial activities of ports will disturb the fragile ecology of the Orissa coast, they argue.

International environment protection organisation Greenpeace, state-based green organisation Orissa Wildlife Society and green leaders, including Prafulla Samanta, are fiercely opposing the locations of the ports, citing environmental issues.

?Ports coming up close to the nesting ground of the endangered Olive Ridley turtle would certainly disturb the ecosystem of the exotic marine animal,? says Greenpeace campaign manager Sanjiv Gopal.

The Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL), a joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T, had to struggle for several years to convince protesters that the port would not affect the movement of the Olive Ridley. “There are many problems,” admits DPCL chief executive officer (CEO) Santosh Mohapatra, “but we are trying to sort out the problems with patience to push through the project.” According to him, the state government is providing tremendous support to the project.

The Gopalpur Port project, which is being developed by a consortium led by Orissa Stevedors (OSL), has been delayed by about two years because of environmental hurdles. The port authorities have been trying to convince the environment ministry and the green activists since March 2009 that the port project would not cause coastal erosion and would not affect the flora and fauna and food of marine creatures.

“Even though we are ready with the required funds and manpower, we are unable to execute the project because we are awaiting environmental clearance,? laments PK Panigrahi, executive director, Gopalpur Port Ltd (GPL).

The state government, however, is now advising port developers not to go for sites that are sensitive to defence establishments and ecology.

?If that is the case, no new port will come up along the Orissa coast,? says a senior executive of an infrastructure development company interested in putting up a port in Orissa. According to him, Olive Ridley turtles are now nesting on almost all the beaches of the state. Moreover, he adds, the defence ministry has establishments at Chilika (Naval Training Institute), and the artillery depot is at Rangaililunda near Gopalpur.

Even though Orissa is witnessing a rush of interest in the port sector, the state is finding it difficult to follow through with the projects. ?There is a mad rush for investments in the port sector as the hinterland is witnessing brisk activity in mineral-based industries like steel, aluminum and cement, besides power,? says state commerce and transport special secretary Guru Ray. Stating that companies have assured investment to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore, he adds that large companies such as London-based ArcelorMittal, Adani Group of Gujarat, JSW, IL&FS and Bhusan Steel have shown interest in investing in the port sector in Orissa.

The state government has already signed a concession agreement (CA) for development of three ports?Dhamra, Gopalpur and Subarnarekha Mouth (Kirtania)?under BOOST basis. Besides, MoUs have been signed for development of Jatadhari Muhan Port in Jagatsinghpur district, Astaranga Port in Puri district and Chudamani Port in Bhadrak district.

Ray says the state government had put in place a Port Policy in 2004 to facilitate development of minor ports.

The port project at Dhamra in Bhadrak district, which is nearing completion, is expected to open for operations later this month. The port is being developed as a deep water, all-weather port with a project cost of Rs 2,464 crore and will have 13 berths to handle 27 million tonnes of cargo, mostly bulk cargo like iron ore and coal. Ultimately, the port capacity will be enhanced to 109 million tonnes per annum by 2015.

?The port is going to receive a testing cargo vessel in July,? says state commerce and transport secretary Satyabrata Sahu, adding, ?The port would be then formally opened for commercial operations.?

The Gopalpur Port is proposing to upgrade the Gopalpur anchorage (fair weather) port in Ganjam district to an all-weather port with an investment of Rs 1,100 crore in the first phase. The port will have three berths with a total capacity of handling 10 million tonne of cargo. The company has recently achieved financial closure by signing a loan agreement for Rs 848.78 crore with a Punjab National Bank-led syndicate of 11 banks.

The Chennai-based Creative Port Development is developing a port at Subarnarekha Mouth (Kirtania) in Balasore district with an investment of Rs 2,187 crore. The port, which will have 10 berths, will handle 14 million tonnes of cargo per annum. The Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd is proposing to set up a port project at Astaranga in Puri district with an investment of Rs 3,500 crore. The project in the first phase will have eight berths to handle 25 million tonnes of cargo per annum.

?The company has submitted the techno feasibility study report,? says Guru Ray. According to him, steps are being taken for signing the concession agreement with the developers.

The state government has signed MoUs for development of two captive ports in the state. While it has given in-principle approval for a captive minor port at Jatadhar Muhan in Jagatsinghpur district by Posco India, it has signed an MoU with the Aditya Birla Group for development of a captive port at Chudamani in Bhadrak district. Posco is proposing to invest about Rs 5,000 crore in the captive port project that would cater to the import-export needs of its proposed 12 million tonne steel project in the same district. Aditya Birla Group is proposing to set up a captive port with two berths to handle 3 to 10 million tonne of cargo per annum. The company is in the process of preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for the captive port project. The state government recently cleared Aditya Birla’s port project despite objections from the defence ministry.

JSW Infrastructure has expressed its interest for development of a captive port at Bichitrapur (Talasari) in Balasore district; Marg wants to set up a captive port, ship building yard and a marine park at Palur in Ganjam district; Puri Port wants to build one at Baliharichandi in Puri district.

Arcelor Mittal, Gujarat?s Adani Group, Adhunik Metaliks, Chennai-based SPI Infrastructure, and Secal Logistics are in the race for the site at Barunei Muhan in Kendrapara district. Similarly, Palur site in Ganjam district has three contenders?Chennai-based Marg, Bangalore-based Future Metals and the Indian Infrastructure Corporation of Indore. Proposals for Bahuda Muhana in Ganjam district have been received from Maytas Infra, Good Earth Maritime of Chennai, Sadhab Shipping of Mumbai and Hyderabad-based Sri Avantika Construction. The port site at Inchudi/Bahabalpur in Balasore district has attracted several investors, including IL&FS, SSL Energy and Bhusan Steel.

?We will take up the matter with the defence ministry,? chief secretary TK Mishra had said recently after having a discussion with officials of the defence ministry at Bhubaneswar. The new guidelines of the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) that restricts construction activities within a 10-km radius of a sanctuary is likely to affect the Barunei port site, which is located close to the Bhitarkanika sanctuary.

Overlapping of port jurisdiction, too, plays spoilsport. The Aditya Birla Group?s captive port project at Chudamani got embroiled in a controversy as Dhamra Port alleged that the port was infringing into its area. Similarly, Posco-India?s captive port is facing charges of violating the port jurisdiction of Paradip Port.

Commerce and transport minister Sanjib Sahu, however, is confident that the problems faced by the port projects would be sorted out in course of time. He says the Chudamani Port by Aditya Birla Group and the Jatadhari Port by Posco India are captive ports and would not require bigger port jurisdiction, for they do not need financial viability for the port. Commercial ports require bigger port jurisdiction to convince the financiers about the economic viability of the port, he explains.

The Orissa government has introduced a bill in the Orissa Assembly for putting in place a law to regulate port activities in the state. The Orissa Maritime Regulation Act will empower the government to solve disputes in the sector.

Orissa, which is emerging as a major hub of steel, power and aluminum industries, is soon going to be a major maritime state in the country, says Sahu.

?The ports, once developed, will become very important maritime trade gateways of the country,? he says, adding, ?These ports not only serve Orissa, but will greatly benefit land-locked states like Chattishgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP and even West Bengal.? Haldia, be warned!