West Bengal invites bids for ₹4,200-cr port project

The West Bengal government has invited final bids for the development of a greenfield port at Tajpur in East Midnapore district on a design-build-finance-operate-and-transfer basis involving ₹4,200 investment. The port has been planned on a straight beachfront and is close to mineral-rich belts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh. The Chairman of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, WBIDC, Rajiva Sinha, informed that the port project got the cabinet approval last year and they are optimistic about the tender to evoke an overwhelming response from the global players. They are expecting good participation from Indian port players as well.

The project is located less than 200 km from Kolkata and about 10 km from a railway station in Digha. It is expected to draw total investments of ₹15,000 crore as there will not be any land acquisition issue. West Bengal Maritime Board (WBMB) will be the nodal agency for undertaking the development of proposed port projects and managing the PPP transaction. Currently, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (erstwhile Kolkata Port Trust) comprising two facilities — Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia Dock Complex (HDC)) — are the major ports in West Bengal. GFX Tajpur Port, the proposed site for the port, has a straight beachfront and has an approach road of 5-km from the Kolkata-Digha highway.