PORTS
HALDIA PORT
KOLKATA PORT

Ports
Kolkatta Port

Kolkata Port - the oldest port in India came in existence in the year 1870. It is the only riverine major Port in India situated 232 Kms. inside the river Hooghly from Sand head. The Kolkata Dock System is situated on the left bank of the Hooghly river 150 Km. from the Middleton Fairway buoy. In 1998-99 the Kolkata Port handled 9.163 million tons of cargo. In 1999-2000 the cargo had increased to 10.311 million tons.

The facilities of Kolkata Port can be grouped into four locational sets:  
Kidderpore Dock in Kolkata
Netaji Subhash Dock in Kolkata
Petroleum wharf at Baj Baj
Anchorage at Diamond Harbour.

Kolkata Port is connected through Eastern railways. By road it is connected to North Eastern States and Western India through National highways NH-34 and NH-2, respectively. Through Inland waters it is connected to National Water way No.1, No.2, Sunderbans and to Bangladesh.

In Kolkata Dock System, Kidderpore Dock contains 18 births, 6 Buoy Mrgs and 3 Dry Docks. Netaji Subhash Docks contains 14 births, 2 Buoy Mrgs and 2 Dry Docks. Baj Baj River Mrgs consist 6 Petroleum wharves.

To cope with the requirement of the trade, the Kolkata Port started container handling facilities. In its modernization program a new approach jetty at Netaji Subash Dock to induct modern multipurpose vessels for marine services is completed. Kolkata Port is also the first in India to introduce VTMS System for a better service to maritime shipping. It also set up the facilities of Floating Storage Offtake.

The Kolkata Port provides appropriate navigational aids as: Light House, Light Vessels, Automatic Tide Gauges, Semaphores, River Marks, Wireless VHF network, Syledis Chain System, Differential Global Position Fixing System (DGPS), Vessel Traffic Management System etc.

The Port also maintains a flotilla consisting of dredgers, pilot vessels, survey research vessels, togs, launches etc. .

Haldia Port

Haldia Dock Complex was commissioned in the year 1977 on the western bank of river Hooghly 50 kms from the pilot Boarding Point. The Haldia Dock Complex was projected to cater to the increasing foreign trade. Haldia Dock Complex was the first modern port project taken up in India having the facilities to handle all types of traffic and bulk cargo. It is also the first dock system in India to provide full-fledged container handling facilities.

There are twelve berths in Haldia Dock System. Nine berths are inside the compounded dock system and the oil jetties are situated on the Hooghly river bank. Out of nine berths inside the dock, two are mechanized coal handling births, berth no.9 is primarily used as a container handling berth, berth no.6 and 7 handle liquid bulk cargo. Others are used for general cargo and containers .

The facilities at Haldia Dock Complex can be grouped as :
Haldia Oil Jetties - 3 Reverine jetties
Impounded Dock - 9 berths and 3 under construction
Haldia Barge Jetties - 2 Reverine Barge jetties for handling of oil  barges
Haldia anchorage for LASH Vessels

Haldia Dock Complex handled 20.224 million tons of cargo in 1998-99 which increased to 20.690 million tons in 1999-2000. By commissioning of third oil jetty at Haldia Dock complex the total annual capacity of POL crude handling by 3 jetties is now 16 million tons. In modernization plan two more berths will be constructed which will increase the handling capacity by another two million tons

Transport infrastructure
Durgapur Expressway

The Project
The Kolkata Durgapur Expressway, which is a 65 km, two- lane stretch connecting Dankuni to Palsit was completed in 1999 and has the status of a National Highway. It provides a much shorter and faster route from Kolkata to Durgapur.

Kolkata – Durgapur Expressway had originally been designed as a high speed high capacity 6-lane facility starting from NH2 By-pass near Dankuni meeting with NH2 at Palsit. In 1975 Ministry of Surface Transport (MoST), GoI, declared Kolkata-Durgapur Expressway a National Highway. In 1986, Ministry of Surface Transport, Government of India (MoST) sanctioned the project as a two-lane expressway. It was proposed that toll charges would be levied on the vehicles using the expressway facility.

Some Features of the project:
The expressway has service road from km 5 to km 13 on both sides. 
There are eight at-grade intersections with State Roads, one road over-bridge and one underpass. 
Viability of this project on BOT lies in direct tolling. 


Panagarh – Moregam Road

This 150 km road project has been implemented. It involved improvement of State Highway from Panagarh on NH-2 to Moregram on NH-34. The work constituted widening of the existing single lane carriageway to two lanes with hard shoulder, strengthening existing pavement. This was done to take care of the projected traffic, improvement of geometric deficiencies, replacement/ rehabilitation of narrow and weak bridges, culverts etc., by-passing congested areas and replacing rail-road level – crossings by road over-bridges.

The project was financed by Asian Development Bank with a loan assistance of 80% of the cost of civil works and consultancy services of both international and domestic consultants.

Salient Features:
Length of the road 150 Km
Top formation width 12 m
Black Top 10 m
Major Bridges 3
Minor Bridges 15

Kona Expressway 

Since 1970 CMDA has taken up program for improving transport infrastructure within Kolkata with the linkages to areas of importance. Kona Expressway is one of them.

Features
The viability of Vidyasagar Setu depends quite an extent on the completion of 7.3 km long Kona Expressway beginning at the new bridge (at the western end of toll plaza) and ending on NH 6 at Nibra (Kona). When operational, this vital link would function as the arterial dispersal route for Vidyasagar Setu providing a far better alternative to both Andul Road and Makardah Road.

Urban Infrastructure
30 Mgd Water Supply Project In Haldia

Presently, the 20 MGD water treatment plant at Geonkhali, in Haldia, supplies water for industrial and domestic use to the Haldia Area. It takes raw water from river Rupnarayan/Hoogly and treats it. With the new large industrial units that are coming up in the region, is it estimated that the current water supply will soon be inadequate to service all Haldia's water requirements.

The Project

To cater to growing demand for water, a new plant with a capacity of 30 MGD has been proposed by Haldia Development Authority (HDA), which shall increase the overall water treatment capacity from 20 MGD to 50 MGD.