Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: Posco-India and Paradip Port Trust (PPT) authorities today decided to set up a six-member joint committee to study possibility of the steel major using the existing port facility at Paradip. A delegation of the Posco-India, which had proposed to set up a 12mtpa greenfield steel mill near the port town at an investment of Rs 52,000 crore, met the officials of the PPT including its Chairman G Jagannath Rao to discuss the project.

Earlier Rao had proposed the steel major to use Paradip Port which is barely 12 km away from the company`s proposed captive port at Jatadhar. "The proposed committee comprising three members from each side will study whether PPT could meet Posco`s requirement," Rao told reporters after the meeting. Claiming that Paradip Port had been fully equiped to meet requirement of Posco, Rao said that the team would undertake survey work from April 2 and submit its report within seven days from completion of the study on April 14.

The PPT`s proposal to Posco-India came after questions were raised on the establishment of a captive port by the steel major at Jatadhar, barely 12 km from the existing Paradip Port. Both PPT and Posco-India explored the possibilities of using Paradip Port after the state government asked the steel major to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for its proposed captive port near Paradip Port as per the suggestions made by Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS).

"The state government will evaluate Posco-India`s port DPR and ensure that the suggestions made by CWPRS are properly implemented," Commerce and Transport Minister Sanjeev Kumar Sahoo had recently told the assembly. A technical study was conducted by CWPRS, Pune, to assess adverse impact of Posco-India`s proposed port on the existing major port at Paradip, the minister had stated adding the government would examine the company`s DPR while initiating process for clearances from various agencies and departments.

PPT authorities, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and National Highways in 2006 had indicated that Posco-India`s proposed captive port at Jatadhar could affect the prospect of the existing port at Paradip. CWPRS was engaged to conduct a technical study on the matter relating to the possible impact, the minister said.

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