The Dhamra Port, which is being developed by Dhamra Port Company (DPCL) ? a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T ? will become operational by the end of July this year, said Dharma Port CEO.
?The port will become operational by the end of this month,? Dhamra Port CEO Santosh Mohapatra told FE. He said a coking coal-laden vessel from Australia will first call on the port during the last week of July. ?The vessel will carry iron ore from the port on its return journey,? he added.
?We are now busy with the final tests and trials,? Mohapatra said, adding that railway links are being tested.
He said the port will receive medium size vessels of 60,000 to 70,000 DWT during the trial period. After three to four months, when the port will go for normal operation, it would receive capsize vessels, he added.
The Dhamra Port will have two berths with a capacity to handle 27 million tonne of cargo per annum (mtpa) in the first phase. The port will mostly handle bulk cargo like coal, iron ore, coking coal and limestone.
Dhamra Port, located between Haldia in the north and Paradip in south, will be strategically closer to the mineral belt of the country. It will have mineral-rich states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Orissa with hinterland. The port will have a huge assured cargo from Tata Steel, which has its steel plant at Jamshedpur. It is also proposing to set up a 6 million tonne steel project in Orissa. Besides, the company has stakes in mines in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh.
The project cost has been escalated to Rs 3,200 crore from the original estimate of Rs 2,464 crore.
Mohapatra, however, said the cost has gone up as, ?we decided to go for some additional facilities. Instead of a double-line railway link, we decided to have a four-line link from the Howrah-Chennai mainline to the port.?
The formal inauguration of the port will be held some time during Dussehra.