IPRCL to start rail infra expansion and modernisation for JNPT, Kandla Port and HDC from Apr ’17
Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited (IPRCL), in its maiden annual general meeting, announced that rail infrastructure expansion and modernisation works for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kandla Port and Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) are likely to begin from April 2017.
IPRCL, a joint venture between major ports and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), was formed with the objective to provide efficient rail evacuation systems to major ports and enhance their capacity and throughput.
Meanwhile, similar works have already commenced for Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam, Chennai, Tuticorin and New Mangalore ports, IPRCL disclosed.
Preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) for road and rail connectivity of proposed Colachel Port in Tamil Nadu was also was discussed in the meeting.
“During the financial year 2015-16, 20 railway projects were taken up across eight major ports. Out of this, eleven works with total project cost of Rs 7,636.15 crore were for preparation of feasibility and DPR and nine works with total project cost of Rs 643.77 crore were for project execution,” read a statement issued by IPRCL.
Meanwhile, since its inception in July 2015, IPRCL has completed the pre-feasibility study of a heavy haul rail corridor from Ib Valley - Talcher to Paradip and Dhamra to evacuate coal mines of Mahanadi Coal Limited to the ports for shipping them to the southern states of India through the coastal route.
“IPRCL is taking up the third and fourth line from Salegoan to Paradip that will be dedicated to freight. The development of this project will give a major fillip to the government’s initiative to promote multi-modal logistics and coastal shipping,” mentioned the statement.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Shipping said in a statement, “In the coming years, IPRCL, as a dedicated SPV will continue to develop railways as a mode of transport in the port sector.”
It said IPRCL will strengthen the second pillar of Sagarmala, the flagship programme of government which has four pillars - port modernisation, port connectivity and evacuation, port-led industrialisation and coastal community development.
Under the Ministry of Shipping, the programme aims at promoting port-led development along India’s 14,500-kilometre long coastline.
As part of Sagarmala, more than 400 projects, at an estimated infrastructure investment of more than Rs 7 lakh crore, have been identified across port modernisation & new port development; port connectivity enhancement, port-linked industrialisation and coastal community development.
These projects will be implemented by relevant central ministries, state governments, ports and other agencies primarily through the private or PPP mode.
IPRCL will strengthen “port connectivity and evacuation’’ through various dedicated projects. The Salegoan-Paradip dedicated freight corridor model will be replicated in future in other port connectivity projects.
With inputs from PTI
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