BHUBANESWAR: A consortium of three private companies on Thursday signed an agreement with the Orissa Government for expansion, development and operation of the Gopalpur port in Ganjam district.

The existing port, which is a seasonal one, would be developed into an all weather port in four years and would have a capacity to handle cargo of ten million tonnes annually, Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, said at the agreement-signing ceremony. The port will be developed by Gopalpur Ports Limited, a consortium comprising Cuttack-based Orissa Stevedores Limited, New Delhi-based Sara International Limited and Hong Kong-based Noble Group Limited.

A total of Rs. 1,700 crore will be invested to develop the port into an all weather port. The consortium will bring in equity of Rs. 450 crore out of the total project cost and the balance amount will be raised from financial institutions. A sum of Rs. 100 crore will be spent in the first phase by January 2007.

The agreement was signed by the Secretary of the State government's Department of Transport and Commerce, Priyabrata Patnaik, and Director of Gopalpur Ports Limited, Mahimananda Mishra. Managing Director of Sara International, D. P. Singh, was present. The project has been awarded to the consortium on 25 years build, operate, own, share and transfer (BOOST) basis. The port's capacity will go up from 25,000 tonnes to ten million tonnes annually in the tenth year.

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