Dhamra Port Company (DPCL) has commissioned eastern India’s deepest port at Dhamra, a sleepy rural area off Bay of Bengal in Bhadrak district. The company has commissioned the port after years of intense protests by environmental activists and groups over allegations that the port was situated on protected forest land.
DPCL, a Rs 3,500 crore project, is 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T, situated on north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district. It has a draught of 18 meters, which can accommodate super cape-size vessels up to 1,80,000 dead weight tonnage(DWT).
The master plan provides for 13 berths, capable of handling more than 100 million MT per annum of dry bulk, liquid bulk, break bulk, containerized and general cargo. The port would initially deal with bulk cargo like coal, iron-ore, chromite, bauxite and steel, which also aims to serve industries in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
