A new berth at Mormugao Port Trust by reclaiming nearly three lakh sq mts of water area is likely to bring out the greens, activists and bio-diversity enthusiasts in full force. The MPT is probably aware of this but is still going ahead with its plans. Recently, it forwarded an application for clearance from the Goa State Pollution Control Board for a Rs 950 crore berth which it plans to use for handling general cargo. The plan is to develop this berth on a public-private-partnership, which means the port will have to find a private player willing to invest in the project. A tender for the same was floated last year but there were no takers and port officials are of the opinion that non-completion of the last stretch of the four lane road linking the port to NH-17B could have deterred investors. Without a proper road network to transport material and equipment it would be difficult to construct the berth.
A larger issue that faces the project, and port officials are mum about it, is finding earth to reclaim three lakh sq meters of water areas. The official view is this would be the responsibility of the private player, nonetheless, finding so much earth in the state would be difficult and transporting it from outside, very expensive. Three mountains were excavated to build the Kansai international airport on an artificial island in the sea off Osaka, Japan. Of course an airport is a much larger project, but a lot of earth would be required to create an additional berth. Even though work on the road link is yet to commence, port officials are of the view that if all permissions are granted, it would lift investor confidence. However, another hurdle is the public hearing which will draw people within a five kilometre radius to discuss the pros and cons of the project.
The construction of an additional berth is a long term plan of the port to increase its capacity to handle general cargo, which has been growing. Although export of iron ore came to a grinding halt in October 2012, the Mormugao port saw a 25 per cent increase in growth in 2014-15. During this year it handled a traffic of 14.71 million tonnes of which 12.89 million tonnes was general cargo. Coal and coke imports constituted a bulk of the general cargo and MPT wants to create additional capacity to handle container traffic which it has been trying to boost ever since iron ore mining was stopped. However, poor road network, logistics and costs have not proved to be favourable. MPT's long-term plans fit into its growth projections and it needs to expand in order to survive. Also, iron exports, when it starts, is expected to be much less and MPT needs to look at other avenues to make up for the revenue shortfall. Growth is the only way out for the port, but the environmental impact of reclaiming three lakh sq metres of water area also needs to be carefully examined.
