Bhubaneswar: Dhamra, Odisha's second largest port located in Bhadark district about 165km from here, is in expansion mode to cater to growing demands of cargo shipment in the Bay of Bengal.

The port serves nearby industrial areas in Odisha and Bengal as well as land-locked Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and northeastern states.

The Odisha government conducted a public hearing on Wednesday as part of its expansion plan. The hearing came just four days after chief minister Naveen Patnaik had dedicated its two special bulk cargo berths, fertilizer cargo complex and barge berth complex. The port's chief executive officer Subrat Tripathy said: "We had a public hearing at Kanakprasad village on expansion of Dharma port. Seaports play a vital role in the country's overall economic development. About 90 per cent by volume and 70 per cent by value of the country's international trade is carried out through maritime transport. Realising the need, the Centre has given adequate thrust to seaport infrastructure. The non-major ports are expected to play an important role in achieving the target that the Centre has set in its Maritime Agenda (2010-2020)."

Bhadrak collector Gyanaranjan Das, regional director of the state pollution control board P.K. Mohapatra, and other local representatives were present at the meeting. The port has proposed developing a master plan based on a five-year and 30-year development plan.

An official said: "The project expansion would facilitate improved communication, health, education, sanitation, hygiene and other needs. The surrounding population would get maximum benefits from upcoming industries and its allied units in shape of direct and indirect employment, and start-up skill development opportunities."

The officials also claimed that quality of life would improve due to increase in per capita/per family earning and value appreciation of local resources that would provide economic freedom.