Rs 500 crore approved for development of West Bengal’s Sagar Port project

To make the development of the proposed Sagar Port project in West Bengal financially viable, a grant of Rs 515 crore has been given in principle approval by the government. This is part of the continuous efforts by the Ministry of Shipping during the last two years for the development of this port.   Further, a SPV, Bhor Sagar Port Ltd (BSPL) has been incorporated for the implementation of the project, with Kolkata Port Trust holding 74 per cent equity and the Government of West Bengal holding 26 per cent equity, as per reports.   IIT, Madras has been engaged to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the port, involving studies for shore-protection, land reclamation and physical modelling for use of dredge material. According to reports, the work of preparing the DPR is underway.   In addition, work is also underway for developing port connectivity. A road-cum-rail bridge is proposed over the river Muriganga to connect the Sagar island to the mainland. The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) has prepared the DPR for this road-cum-rail bridge, and the estimated cost of the bridge is Rs 1,822 crore. Moreover, MoRTH has in principle agreed to take up widening of NH-117 to a four-lane road from Kakdwip to Joka and up to the rail-cum-road bridge to the Sagar Island. And, the Railway Board has sanctioned a survey for determining the alignment to connect the Port with the mainland rail network, as per reports.