Bhubaneswar, July 3 (IANS) The expansion plan of Odisha’s Dhamra port got a boost with authorities Tuesday successfully conducting a public hearing in a village near the port, an official said.
The hearing on environment impact assessment for second phase expansion was conducted by the State Pollution Control Board in Dosinga village in the Bhadrak district, about 170 km from Bhubaneswar.
The public hearing continued for more than four hours and passed off peacefully.
“This will pave the way for the company to get environment clearance for the expansion,” the port’s CEO Santosh Kumar Mohapatra told IANS.
Various issues relating to surrounding environment, marine life and livelihood improvement of the local fishing communities were discussed during the public hearing in the presence of senior district officials, he added.
The Dhamra Port is a 50:50 joint-venture between Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Tata Steel. It commenced commercial operation in May 6, 2011. In the first phase the port has built two fully mechanised berths with a capacity of nearly 20 million tonnes per annum.
In the expansion phase, the port plans to build 11 more berths over the next five years which will increase to port capacity to nearly 100 million tonnes per annum.
