Cargo of odd dimensions being handled at Paradip port. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Nov. 25: The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) has invited global tenders for speedy establishment of containerised cargo handling.

The Rs 387-crore project will be constructed in build-operate-transfer mode.

“The state government had demanded installation of such a facility. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had advised us to take steps in this regard. Various industrial units in the state had also made a similar request. The PPT has taken steps for overall interest of the state and the port. The containerised cargo handling facility will give a boost to the port traffic,” said PPT chairman Sudhansu Sekhara Mishra.

The port, which principally handles bulk cargoes in the form of mineral ores, is bereft of containerised cargo handling infrastructure.

The facility will help shifting goods faster. Exporters from the state are being forced to divert their containerised cargoes to Haldia and Visakhapatnam ports as the PPT is not equipped to handle such goods and commodities. Containerised cargo berth is the urgent need of the hour. It is positive development that the PPT has taken steps to install the infrastructure, said trustee member of the PPT Pravat Kumar Samataray.

Speaking on the occasion of port day celebration earlier, Mishra had said the PPT was in the process of selecting a partner to build a multipurpose berth for containerised cargo handling.

“We have registered 30 per cent growth in cargo handling during this year compared to the same period of last year. The PPT achieved the No. 2 position in cargo handling. We have achieved 106 million tonnes of capacity, which is the highest among all the major ports of India,” he had said. The Paradip Port Trust & GAIL (India) Ltd. have signed an MoU last month to set up a LNG terminal at Paradip port.

There will be an investment of Rs 3,108 crore in the first phase of the proposed LNG terminal, while in the second phase, there will be a further investment Rs 2,500 crore. Once the terminal is commissioning, the PPT will earn the distinction of being a major natural gas hub of eastern and central India, he said.