Paradip, Oct. 25: A multiplicity of constraints and bottlenecks continue to pose a hindrance to the growth of Paradip port, a major one in Odisha.

Unavailability of land required for expansion of the port, poor rail connectivity and recurring lawlessness in and around the port township are problems that have the authorities worried.

“The Paradip port is a prized possession of Odisha. It is on the path of a massive expansion programme. The port’s growth will give a fillip to shore-based industries in the state,” said chairman, Paradip Port Trust, S. Ananth Kumar Bose.

The ministry of shipping has approved the Paradip port uplift plan, consisting of the development of a channel to handle ships of 1,25,000 DWT, construction of coal and iron ore berth on built-operate-transfer basis, construction of clean cargo berth and addition of two single busy moorings.

The first berth, an iron ore berth, was commissioned in 1966. The port now has 14 berths and a single point mooring with the total capacity of 70MT and the traffic throughput is around 55/56MT annually.

“There is no end to the dispute over land between the state government and the port trust. It needs to be amicably settled at the earliest or else future expansion of the port will suffer,” said Pravat Samantaray, a member of the port trust board.

The fast-declining law and order situation in and around the Paradip port has become a major cause of concern for port authorities and other industrial units. The region is witnessing massive industrialisation. Modern healthcare facilities are absent here. This needs to be prioritised, Samantaray added.

The port had humble beginnings, handling 4.5 lakh tonne cargo when it began operating in 1966. As it completes 50 years, cargo handling has shot up, reaching 560 lakh tonne per annum, Bose said.

The capacity of the port has witnessed massive growth over the past five decades. While it was 2 lakh metric tonnes in 1966, it has shot up to 760 lakh tonnes. The port, according to Bose, has envisaged ambitious expansion plans to augment the capacity to 250MT with 28 berths by 2020. The estimated investment could be around Rs 10,000 crore or so. After completion of the capacity expansion work, the Paradip port would be one of the country’s top most ports.

The chairman said that neither the expansion of the operation area of Calcutta Port nor the proposed Posco captive port would affect the Paradip port, but the private Dhamra port might.

“The Dhamra port may affect the business of Paradip port. But it is good because we welcome competition and that it would improve our efficiency as well,” Bose said.

Plans are on to develop an additional cargo-handling facility at a distant location. “We have submitted a proposal to the state government for a satellite port at Bahuda Muhan in Ganjam district. We have sought government’s assistance for the required land. The project is now at an infant stage,” Bose added.