Reasons for development of the Port at Sagar Island
Q. Which of the following are reasons for development of the Port at Sagar Island?
1) Haldia and Kolkata ports cannot be expanded more
2) Dredging issues
3) Draft limitations- Published on 29 Jul 16a. 1, 2
b. 1, 3
c. 2, 3
d. All of the above
ANSWER: All of the above
- Kolkata Port has been facing the challenges in terms of draft limitations, limited headroom for expansion and efficiency. The constraint has necessitated the need to have an alternative port near to sea, having sufficient draft and no river navigation, as it has been there in Kolkata Port.
- Sagar Island has been selected after a detailed study for locating the port. A new port in Sagar will share the hinterland of the Haldia and Kolkata ports, particularly the power and steel plants in the eastern region, and containers from the eastern parts of India (Western UP, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh etc.) and neighbouring landlocked countries- Nepal and Bhutan.
- The port will be a viable alternative to serve as for spill-over cargo, specifically non-POL bulk from the Haldia dock complex.
- Containers will be another major variant to be handled at the Sagar port. This is primarily due the limitation of capacity and the inability to expand the Haldia and Kolkata ports, which can result in an overflow of containers that can be handled at the Sagar port.
