Cabinet clears Rs. 515-cr for port project

Injecting a major booster to the port sector, the Union Government has recently cleared Rs. 515-cr for making the Sagar Port project in West Bengal financially viable and to achieve this, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) - Bhor Sagar Port Limited (BSPL) has been created for execution of the project. The SPV is a joint venture (JV) between Kolkata Port Trust holding and the West Bengal government, said ministry sources, adding that Kolkata Port Trust holding will have a 74% equity stake in the JV firm, while the rest will be held by the government of West Bengal. In this connection, IIT, Madras, has been engaged to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the port, involving studies for shore-protection, land reclamation and physical modeling for the usage of dredge material, said official sources.