'Coal handling at berth 11 to be mechanized'.

PANAJI: The Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has taken a decision to mechanize coal handling operations in its entirety at berth number 11. The berth is adjacent to Vasco city.

MPT chairman Praveen Agarwal said, "To completely eliminate coal dust pollution, the storage and handling of coal at berth number 11 will henceforth be done in covered domes. Retrieval from the ships' holds will be through tubes or pipe-conveying systems to the storage domes".

It may be recalled that the MPT was under pressure from the state government and Goa State Pollution Control Board ( GSPCB) to initiate this measure. Recently, the high court had also directed the MPT to take urgent measures to curb coal dust pollution.

Agarwal said that entire coal storage areas will be painted white to indicate that there is no pollution. "The evacuation of coal from berth 11 will be only by railway rakes so that no portion of the coal passes via roads," he said.

Requests for Qualification (RFQs) for the evacuation of coal were invited by the MPT. In response, 13 reputed infrastructure companies submitted their RFQs.

"The overwhelming response to the notice inviting tenders issued by the MPT is mainly due to the fact that the country has to import huge amounts of metallurgical and thermal coal and coke for power plants and steel mills coming up in the region. Rough estimates suggest that the nation may have to import 200 million metric tonnes of coal by 2014-15. Most of these imports will take place at ports in southern India," he said.

Some of the main bidders for the project are M/s GVK, JSW Infrastructure, IL&FS, Sterlite Industries, Mundra / Adani Port Limited, Gammon Infrastructure, Punj Lloyds and Gangawaram Port Limited.

The project will be developed on the public private partnership (PPP) model. The rated capacity of the terminal is 4 MMT per annum, but if the demand increases, the terminal will be capable of handling up to 7 MMT per annum.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com