Indian Port Rail Corporation (IPRCL) plans to start work on the Rs 4,300-crore contract connecting Odisha’s Paradip and Dhamra ports to coalfields at Talcher by March 2017.
IPRCL, which started operations late last year, has a portfolio of 25 projects worth Rs 10,000 crore focusing on aligning rail with ports for smoother, cleaner and cheaper connectivity.
Paradip is the second largest major port of India. It plans to double its present cargo handling capacity of 118 MnT pa to 300 MnT pa. , of which 35 – 40 MnT pa are Steel and raw materials like iron ore, coal, manganese and steel products.
The Dhamra port in Odisha, a deep draft sea port, plans to enhance capacity from 25 MTPA to 142 MTPA over the next 10 years.
‘The heavy haul rail corridor is IPRCL’s flagship project and from Talcher to Paradip and Dhamra ports, would be a major breakthrough for rail – port connectivity in the country’, said a Govt. official
Talcher coalfields cover an area of 1,800 sq km and have geological reserves of 58.57 billion tonnes of coal or 16 % of the country’s total coal reserves.
~Sourced
Leave a Reply