Kolkata, Sep 21 (IANS) The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is planning to reclaim 2,000 acres in West Bengal’s Sagar island to set up a deep draught port, Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy said here Tuesday.
‘Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has already identified the location after a detailed survey at Sagar island, where the port can be set up and we are planning to reclaim 2,000 acres in five years by utilising the dredged material at Auckland and Jellingham,’ Roy said at a seminar on ‘The present and future of ports in West Bengal’ organised by Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The port would have around 12 meters of draught and it would be linked with the mainland by a road-cum-rail-bridge. It would also have a modern shipyard and a power plant based on natural gas.
‘Sagar island can be developed as a maritime investment region and it has great prospects for eco-tourism and religious tourism,’ Roy said.
The Railway ministry has sanctioned the construction of a road-cum-rail bridge to connect Sagar island with the mainland at Kachuberia over the river Muriganga at a cost of Rs.700 crore and the modalities are being worked out by the cabinet.
