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| Edited By: Sumanta Ray Chadhuri |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 30, 2018, 03:10 AM IST
Amma Lines Ltd, the flagship company of the Mumbai-based Meka Group, is planning to set up a Rs 6,000 crore deep sea port in West Bengal under a joint venture with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).
The proposed port would be set up over 3,000 acres at Rosulpur in East Midnapore district.
The project will provide direct employment to 1,000 people.
Amma Lines chairman & managing director Vijay Papa Rao met the WBIDC managing director Subrata Gupta and the state industry secretary Dipankar Mukhopadhyay on Monday and gave the proposal for setting up the deep sea port, in two phases.
Rao said as per the proposal, Amma Lines will have 74% stake in the joint venture, while the West Bengal government will hold the remaining 26% through WBIDC.
A memorandum of understanding will be signed between Amma Lines and WBIDC next month, following which the company will submit a detailed project report to WBIDC.
Dipankar Mukhopadhyay, state industry secretary, said the final agreement is expected to be signed in the next two months.
“We will apply for the environmental clearance for the project to the Union government. The first phase can be completed within a year after the environmental clearance is received,” he said.
As per the initial agreement, WBIDC will enter into a long-term lease pact with Amma Lines for setting up the deep sea port project.
In the first phase, the draft length of the proosed port would be 12 metres and it will have four berths, two each for handling containerised and bulk cargo.
In the second stage, the draft would be increased to 17 metres and it will have 10 additional berths.
The state industry secretary ruled out the possibility over any trouble for getting land for the project, as there no requirement for land acquisition.
Amma Lines has technical expertise through which the land will be available from the reclamation process, he said.
“The entire 3,000 acre plot would be set up by the land and silt collected through the land reclamation process. There is also a proposal to connect the port both through rail and road to the sub-divisional town of Contai.”
