Paradip, July 7: A huge cargo consignment containing machinery for the Indian Oil Corporation’s oil refinery project has become an object of curiosity for the local residents.

The cargo weighing 995 tonnes, is the largest ever Odd Dimension Cargo (ODC) to have landed at the port since its inception in the 60’s.

“It’s the largest and heaviest ever ODC consignment to have been handled by the port. The ODC lying at our disposal is of 72-metre long and 23-metre width,” said port chairman G. Jagannath.

The Paradip Port Trust has to dismantle parts of its gate No. 4 to transport the cargo. The authorities will have to relocate the life-size statue of Netaji Subbhas Bose.

A road is being laid out for the cargo’s transport. Many structures, electric poles and road dividers would have to be removed. The cargo was anchored at the Roll On-Roll Off jetty. The marine department transmitted the consignment to the self-propelled trailers.

Arrangements are being made to transport the cargo. It requires about a 10km road route from gate No. 4 up to the Sandhakuda project area.

The Netaji statue would come in the way of the cargo’s march. Therefore, it would be relocated to another place. It would be reinstalled at the same spot after the exercise, said PPT officials. Moreover, a watchtower would either be dismantled or relocated. The street-lighting poles and road dividers would also be removed from the earmarked route.

The cost of cargo transportation is to the tune of over Rs 2 crore and it would be borne by the company, the port chairman said.

“I had a partial view of the cargo from outside the port gate. As the consignment is lying in prohibited port area, I can view it from outside. It is huge and massive. Large crowd would turn out when the cargo would roll on the road route,” said Dipti Prakash Pattnaik, a port town resident.