Subarnarekha port formerly known as Kirtania port is a deep-water, all-weather

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

proposed to be constructed at the mouth of Subarnarekha River in Balasore district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. The foundation stone for the port was laid in 2019.

Background

For over 40 years there was only one major port in

, at

Paradip Paradeep, also spelt Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelt Paradwip), is a major seaport city and municipality, from Jagatsinghpur city in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep Municipality was constituted as an NAC on 27 Sep ...

with less major ports at Gopalpur and

Dhamra Port The Dhamra Port is a port in Bhadrak district, Odisha, India, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal about seven kilometres from the old port of Dhamra. The agreement to develop the port was signed in April 1998. The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DP ...

. That picture has changed dramatically in the past few years. Based on a study by

IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

, the Government of Odisha had identified 13 locations along the state's coast line as suitable for setting up of ports. Thereafter, in order to facilitate the setting up of new ports with participation of private parties the state government had formulated in 2004 a separate port policy. Apart from the

Dhamra port The Dhamra Port is a port in Bhadrak district, Odisha, India, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal about seven kilometres from the old port of Dhamra. The agreement to develop the port was signed in April 1998. The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DP ...

, which is set to be operational by mid-2010, progress has been achieved in setting up three other ports – Kirtania port at Subarnarekha mouth,

Astaranga Astaranga is a fishing and agricultural village and a community development block in Puri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was a part of 'Lavana Satyagraha' (Salt March), a nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma ...

port in Puri and Chudamani port in Bhadrak. After implementation of these projects, Odisha is expected to become the vital exit point for not only the state, but other land-locked states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Geography

Kirtania is located at at Chaumukh village.

Port development

The Government of Odisha has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chennai-based Creative Port Development Pvt. Ltd. For the development of a deep-water, all-weather project at Kirtania at the mouth of the Subarnarekha. The Kirtania Port project was being taken up on a 50-year build, own, operate, share and transfer (boost) basis. The development would include a dedicated rail cum road connection from the port to the NH 5 and rail network at

Jaleswar Jaleswar is a town located in the Balasore district of Odisha, in India. It consists of 144 villages, with four major areas: Bada Bazar, Nua Bazar, Station Bazar, and Purana Bazar. Jaleswar is considered one of the new municipalities in the s ...

. The port will have an initial capacity to handle 10 million tonnes per year. The work on the proposed port has been delayed because of a legal tussle between the promoters and venture capital investors of the company. The Promoter aggrieved by their Venture partners had filed an oppression & Mismanagement case under sec 397,398 & 402 of the Companies Act 1956 in the Company Law Board(CLB). The CLB has given a verdict in favour of the promoter shareholders. The Venture Capitalist has been ordered to exit from the Promoter's Company as well as Kirtania Port Project at a price of Rs. 52.50 Crore.

References

{{Hydrography of Odisha Ports and harbours of India