Bhattacharjee at the Ficci meet in Calcutta. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, Nov. 26: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has requested the Union shipping ministry to speed up the modalities for the Kulpi port and reassured the Dubai investor whose patience was wearing thin.

The chief minister also hinted at a “problem” with the Calcutta Port Trust.

“They (Dubai World) are still interested. I have written a letter to the managing director of the company yesterday, and a copy of that to the shipping ministry,” Bhattacharjee told an interactive session with Ficci today.

The Telegraph had reported last week that Dubai World had conveyed to the government that it would not wait beyond 90 days for an agreement for the Rs 1,200-crore project.

The facilitating agreement has to be signed between the Bengal government and the Calcutta Port Trust, the custodian of the two ports in the state. Sources in Writers’ Buildings confirmed that the letters had been sent to shipping minister T.R. Baalu and DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

DP World, one of the largest port operators in the world, is a subsidiary of Dubai World, the investment vehicle of the Dubai government.

“The chief minister has sent letters to both of them. He has informed DP World that necessary clearances are being obtained for construction of the Kulpi port and that there’s not much to worry,” the official said.

However, at the Ficci session, the chief minister said: “We are facing some problem with the Calcutta Port authority, but we are still trying our best,” Bhattacharjee said.

Asked whether the “problem” was mentioned in the letter to Baalu, the Writers’ official said: “It has not been stated that the CPT is obstructing the project. The chief minister has urged the Union minister to ensure that the CPT offers necessary co-operation.”

In a letter in May to the chief minister, Dubai World chairman Bin Sulayem had referred to “roadblocks with regard to the issues raised” by the CPT.

Last week, DP World sent a “gentle reminder” to the state government to speed up the project, sources said.

It is learnt the CPT has also budged a bit and sent its observations on the Kulpi container port to the shipping ministry earlier this week. The CPT wants the new port to bear cost of dredging the Hooghly river up to Calcutta but DP World has agreed to do it only up to Kulpi which is much closer to the sea.

The chief minister also blamed the CPT for “neglecting” Haldia port where low river draught has threatened to stop ship movement because lack of dredging.

“I discussed with the (CPT) chairman, but nothing happened. Finally, I took up with the shipping ministry…. All the dredgers were in south India for the Sethusamudram project. I had written a letter to the Prime Minister. The PMO had to intervene and now the dredgers have come back,” he said.