Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), which operates two dock systems in eastern India, is planning to resume full-fledged shipbreaking activities after nearly three years, a senior port official said on Friday, May 10.
According to A K Bagchi, director at KoPT's Marine Department, five to six berths at Kolkata Dock System (KDS) have been reserved for shipbreaking activities and trial runs have been started with three-medium sized vessels.
Full shipbreaking operations will start as soon as statutory pollution and environmental clearances are obtained from designated authorities, the official said. The shipbreaking operations of KoPT had been stopped in 2010 owing to technical reasons.
In the first year of resumption of shipbreaking, the port authorities expect a revenue of $1 million. The average annual revenue from shipbreaking before it was stopped was $12 million per year.
KoPT operates two dock systems, one at a riverine port on Hooghly river at Kolkata and the second at a deep water dock at Haldia, 50 km southwest downstream along the Bay of Bengal coastline.
