Kolkata Port appoints consultant for ₹2,000-cr tunnel

Kolkata Port, which is also known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, has appointed a consultant to carry out a techno-feasibility study for a tunnel under Hooghly River connecting Kolkata and Howrah cities. The proposed tunnel will be the second such tunnel and downstream of the one by East West Metro Railway, which is the first of its kind in the country. The tunnel will help the cargo loaded trucks of the port to move swiftly without hindrance from Khidirpur dock area and decongest the city’s roads as well.

Chairman Vinit Kumar informed that they have awarded the techno-feasibility study to Rodic Consultants. The project includes a road tunnel and a connecting bridge to the national highways. The consultant is expected to submit a report in 7-8 months and will entail an estimated investment of ₹2000 crore. On the developments being carried out at the Kolkata Port, the night navigation facility will be installed soon to boost inland waterways cargo movement on National Waterways 1, which runs between Prayagraj to Haldia in West Bengal. The port is moving toward handing over berth management to the private sector and the modernisation of berths will attract an investment of ₹3,000 crore. The port has already handed over a berth at Haldia to the Adani group which will invest nearly ₹300 crore.