Phailin-hit Gopalpur port in Odisha to resume ops by Jan 2015

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 9:

The all-weather Gopalpur port, which has been lying in a non-operational state since October last year afer it was battered by cyclone Phailin, is likely to resume commercial operations from January 2015.

“We are in the process of restarting operations at the port, which had to stop its operation in October last year. We hope we will be in a position to do that from January next year. Gopalpur port has always adhered to the timelines committed by us,” Mahimananda Mishra, managing director of Gopalpur Ports Ltd (GPL) told reporters after a meeting with chief minister Naveen Patnaik here today.

The all-weather direct berthing port, which began operations only in March last year and employed around 5,000 local villagers on contractual basis, had suffered losses of up to Rs. 250 crore due to the cyclonic storm that wreaked havoc in the Ganjam district.

The repair work, however, was in full swing and is likely to be over by the end of 2014, Mishra said.

GPL had proposed to enhance the port’s cargo handling capacity from 3.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 5 mtpa and also to enable the port to handle large vessels.

GPL has already constructed a multi-purpose berth with a capacity of 3.5 mtpa of cargo handling.

The port is being jointly promoted by Odisha Stevedores Limited (OSL) and Sara International Ltd.