The Shipping Ministry is in talks with the West Bengal government, for getting land to set up a coastal employment zone (CEZ), director (Sagarmala), Shipping Ministry, Abhishek Chandra said, on January 17, 2020.
Under the plan, the state government will give the land as equity, while funding will be done by the centre. “CEZs will be set up using the challenge methodology of NITI Aayog,” Chandra said.
Under this system, all projects under different ministries will be rated on more than a half-dozen parameters on a scale of zero-to-100 and the state that gets the highest score will get the project automatically.
Setting up CEZs across the country will promote port-led development conceived under the ‘Sagarmala’ project of the government, he said. Presently, more than 2,000 million tonnes of cargo is handled through coastal shipping, which is a cheaper mode than rail or road, Chandra said.
KoPT plans economic zone-cum-cargo terminal at Balagarh
The Kolkata Port Trust has said that it is planning an economic zone-cum-cargo terminal at Balagarh, which will decongest the city of north-bound cargo, by using the National Waterways-1
March 9, 2018: The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), on March 8, 2018, said that it was planning an economic zone-cum-extended terminal for cargo at Balagarh, using the National Waterways-1 to transport goods between Haldia and Allahabad. “National Waterways-1 is coming up. We have mooted an idea to build a cargo terminal at Balagarh, which is about 40-45 kms from Kolkata, to overcome city congestion for north bound cargo from Haldia and Kolkata docks, using NW-1,” KoPT chairman Vineet Kumar said, at a CII-organised event.
See also: Kolkata to emerge as a big financial centre by 2030: Additional chief secretary
He said as KoPT had 300 acres of land in place at the location which can act as an economic zone and ‘we propose to invite industries to set up their operations here’. The facility, for which a DPR will be ready by the next three months, is expected to be a win-win situation for both, industries and ports. Kumar said the extended terminal gateway of Balagarh can act as a storing hub for cargo from Haldia and Kolkata docks, for their onward journey via waterways or by road. This will also bring down the turnaround time and help in decongesting the city.
Kumar said a RoRo service is expected to commence shortly after its successful trials. “This service will be able to ferry about 150-180 Howrah-bound trucks from Kiderpore docks, or one-third of the total average truck movement. This is targeted to decongest city and overcome vehicular movement restrictions during day time,” the KoPT head said. Kumar added that its bulk outer terminal-II project at Haldia and Salukhali liquid terminals, will add to the overall eight million ton capacity.
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