Orissa signs final pact for Rs.6,500 crore port project

BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Monday signed a final agreement with Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd for a Rs.6,500 crore port project, an official said.

The full-fledged all-weather port would be built by the company at Astaranga in Puri by 2015 on a build, own, operate, share and transfer (BOOST) basis, G.K. Dhal, secretary of the commerce and transport department, told IANS.

The company will submit a detailed project report within a year, Dhal said after signing the final agreement, also known as a concession agreement, with a senior official of the company in the state secretariat.

The port will initially handle 25 million tonnes of cargo per annum and will further expand to 70 million tonnes per annum, he said.

At the initial phase, dredging will be done up to 15.5 metres which will ultimately reach 20 metres. It will cater to ultimate vessel size of 1.75 lakh DWT (Dead Weight Tonnage), he said.

The government had earlier entered into an initial pact with the company in 2008 for the project. The concession agreement was signed as part of the terms and conditions in the initial pact, he said.