The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has signed a concession agreement with Hooghly Oil & Gas Terminal to establish a liquid cargo handling terminal at Shalukhali in Haldia.
The terminal will facilitate the movement of petroleum cargo such as LNG, LPG as well as
vegetable oil. It is expected to develop over the next three years. The jetty will be set up on a public private partnership (PPP) mode with a project cost of for INR 172.5 crore (USD 27 mln)
The project will help reduce pre-berthing detention and turnaround time of tankers carrying different liquid cargo, leading to a reduction in logistics costs to trade.
The new facility will come up at Shalukhkhali, 130 km from Kolkatta, where a second dock system was being planned at one stage.
G Senthilvel, deputy chairman (Haldia), KoPT and Vimal Chopra, senior vice president (Business Development), IMC Ltd, signed the MoU in the presence of port chairman Vinit Kumar.
According to KoPT’s masterplan, the liquid cargo handling has been projected as 16.4 million tonnes per annum by 2020 and 20 million tpa by 2025.