M. T. Krishna Babu, Chairman, New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), has said that the mechanised coal handling operations from berth 16 will commence by March.
Stating that the works are in the final stages, he said the berth is being constructed at a cost of Rs 469.46 crore. Currently, coal handling is semi-mechanised at the port. With the commissioning of the new berth, the operations will be mechanised end-to-end, he noted.
Talking of the other infrastructure projects at the port, Mr Babu said that the multi-purpose berth 14 would be developed as a container terminal. The RFQ (request for quotation) for it is over now. After the RFP (request for proposal) to mechanise the berth is issued, the proposal will be sent to the government for clearance.
The project will be taken up in two phases with an investment of Rs 280.71 crore, he said. After awarding the project to the successful bidder, the first phase would be completed in 18 months.
Besides, NMPT is planning to develop berth 17 as a multipurpose berth with an investment of around Rs 200 crore from its own resources. The Chairman said that the berth would be ready for handling multipurpose cargo by the time berth 14 is ready for handling container cargo in two years.
