Kolkata Port, Odisha’s Dhamra to bury hatchet; to explore joint handling of bulk carriers

Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) and privately operated Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) in Odisha have proposed to join hands for operating large bulk carriers.

Dharma Port, which is a joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T, said the two ports are working on a proposal for forming a joint venture to undertake two-port operations for large bulk carriers.

In case the joint venture proposal fails to materialise, the two plans to enter into some sort of MoUs for operations of large bulk carriers.

Kolkata Port (including Haldia) does not have the draft required to handle large bulk carriers with sizeable parcel load but is equipped with better evacuation facilities.

Dhamra, on the other hand, being seaport does not suffer from draft problem although it has relatively poor cargo and ship handling facilities.

''There are lots of synergies in our operations and we're exploring how best we can hammer out a solution for our mutual benefit'', sources at both the ports said. ''Once we agree in principle, the details can be worked out''.