NMPA expects considerable employment generation in coastal region

It is implementing three projects under PM Gati Shakti and also promoting port-based industrialisation

The New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), which is implementing three projects under Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti and port-based industrialisation, expects considerable employment generation and further development of the coastal region.

Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, NMPA Chairman A.V. Ramana said that the port is taking up mechanisation of Berth 14 which handles containers on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. JSW Infrastructure Ltd. will execute the container terminal project on public-private partnership mode at an estimated cost of ₹281 crore.

A dedicated container terminal, Mr. Ramana said, will boost the business environment in the hinterland accommodating clean cargo. The present 1.5 lakh TEU a year capacity of the terminal will get enhanced to 3 lakh TEU, he said.

According to JSW, the terminal, with a quay length of 350 m to accommodate vessels up to 9,000 TEUs, can handle six million tonnes of cargo a year upon commissioning.

NMPA will need a deep draft berth to handle dry cargo after mechanisation of Berth 14 and therefore, will construct a new one, Berth 17, under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode. Coming up at an estimated cost of ₹217 crore next to Berth 8 in about two years. The berth will be able to handle 4.73 million tonnes of cargo a year, Mr. Ramana said.

The Chairman said that the NMPA will shortly issue the letter of commencement to the lowest bidder for the ₹197-crore Kulai Fishing Harbour Project that was delayed by three years due to legal hurdles. With the issue getting settled before the High Court of Karnataka, the project will take off soon benefiting 2,720 seagoing fishermen and 1,280 shore-based people generating considerable revenue from exports too.

Besides de-congesting the overcrowded Mangaluru Fishing Harbour, the Kulai facility that is expected to stabilise in four years, can handle 27,100 tonnes of fish worth ₹172 crore at boat-side prices. The harbour will also offer safe shelter to fishing vessels, particularly during the monsoon, when they take shelter inside NMPA, he said.