The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is planning to set up an extended terminal cum industrial zone through an ‘Extended Gates…
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The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is planning to set up an extended terminal cum industrial zone through an ‘Extended Gates Project’ at Balagarh in Hooghly district to facilitate smoother and faster movement of northbound cargo.
The KoPT chairman, Mr Vinit Kumar, speaking at a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) said, “The KoPT has around 300 acres of land at disposal at the said location which has the potential to serve as an industrial zone.
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We are planning to invite industries to set up their operation units there. The proposed extended terminal gateway can serve as a storing hub for cargo from Haldia and Kolkata docks prior to their onwards journey via waterways or by roads.
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This will help in bringing down the turnaround time due to vehicular movement restrictions in the city and in turn reduce congestion in the city.”Mr Kumar further said, “With the National Waterways- 1 connecting Haldia with Banaras and Allahabad coming up, we plan to build the cargo terminal at Balagarh which is located 40-45 km from Kolkata.
The aim is to facilitate faster movement of containers and reduce congestion for North-bound cargo from Haldia and Kolkata docks using the National Waterways- 1.” He further added a detailed project report (DPR) for the project will be ready in the next three months.
The ‘Extended Gates’ is a concept that helps reduce congestion and environmental impacts made by heavy vehicles adjacent to ports and terminals.
The KoPT chairman further stated that a Roll-on/Rolloff (RoRo) vessel service is expected to commence shortly after successful trials. The service will ferry about 150- 180 Howrah-bound trucks from the Kidderpore docks.
This move will expectedly help in decongesting the city and overcome vehicular restrictions during the daytime, said Mr Kumar.”
The KoPT’s bulk cargo terminal project at Haldia and liquid cargo terminal at Salukhali will add to total eight million tonne of capacity and help quicker turnaround of vessels,”Mr Kumar said.
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