Impact of Posco port is under study

Impact of Posco port is under study

Deccan Chronicle, Bhubaneswar, April 10: The request of Pohang Steel Company (Posco) for a separate port facility near Paradip port in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district is being examined both by the Centre and Orissa government and the findings of the study, being conducted by an expert agency, are awaited. This was informed by the chairman of Paradip Port Trust (PPT) K. Raghuramaiah here on Sunday evening. The study to find the environmental and technical impact had been entrusted to the Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), he said. The CWPRS is expected to submit its report within a month or two.

The South Korean steel major has planned to set up a 12-million tonne steel plant near Paradip with an investment of Rs 52,000 crores. The company has also proposed to build a captive port near Jatadhari rive mouth, about seven km south of the existing port at Paradip. The PPT chairman stated that the impact of littoral drift on the Paradip port, if another port came up nearby on the same coast, required to be studied carefully before the decision was taken.

"Paradip has been experiencing erosion of the coast on the northern side and accretion on the southern side and how nature will behave if the new port comes up is the question," he said. "But we will be very happy if the Posco project comes up near Paradip," the chairman said. The port township had lost about 500 acres of land due to coastal erosion, while a new area of about 430 acres had been created due to accretion, the PPT deputy chairman Subrat Tripathy said.

Environmentalists and a few experts have expressed their concern over the possible impact of the proposed Posco port on the Paradip port. They apprehend that the existing port, which is one of the 12 majors ports in the country and currently under stress, might be affected if another port comes up in the vicinity.