KOLKATA: Two deep sea ports will be developed in both Tajpur and Sagar islands of West Bengal by Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), Chairman of KoPT Vineet Kumar said on Thursday. “KoPT will develop the Tajpur port in East Midnapore district for which feasibility study will soon commence. A feasibility study will be carried out in the next 15-20 days and a tender will be floated to appoint consultant. In the second phase, Sagar Port will come up in South 24 Parganas district,” the chairman said, while speaking to mediapersons.
KoPT and West Bengal government are likely to float a joint venture company which will develop the Tajpur port. Tajpur offers a 15 metre draft which will help attract large ships to Bengal. He also said, “KoPT also targets to increase the capacity of the port to 15 million tonnes this financial year.” Sagar was the original mega-port identified for Bengal and it will be built in the second phase of the project. Bhor Sagar Port is a 74:26 per cent joint venture between KoPT and state government. The future of the Sagar Port project was uncertain after West Bengal government proposed the Tajpur project. KoPT had earlier raised objections regarding the viability issues of the port.
