Project to decongest Mangaluru Old Port remains incomplete even 4 years after launch
Foundation stone for the project, estimated to cost ₹65 crore, under the Sagarmala scheme was laid in December 2020 by the then member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel. Of the ₹65 crore, the Centre's contribution was ₹25 crore while ₹40 crore came from the government of Karnataka. With the delay in completion of the project, the cost has escalated to over ₹75 crore.
Officials in the Ports Department attributed the delay to encroachment of the port land by private individuals that has crippled work on creating the back-end infrastructure for the berth, including warehouses and lounges. About 40 metre wide and 200 metre long plot has been encroached with the department being unable to undertake hard surfacing work for the project, they said.
During the recent visit of the Secretary of the Ports Department, the district administration was told to get the encroachment removed. But, nothing has happened so far.
If the encroachment is not removed, the scope of the project would have to be curtailed to the jetty part. The 350-metre-long jetty to accommodate about 70 cargo vessels of 5,000 DWT has been completed.
The project included a commercial wharf, four-lane approach road, passenger lounge, two warehouse buildings, and capital dredging. While the four-lane approach road from Kulur-Bengre main road is almost complete, warehouses, passenger lounge and wharf are yet to be completed.
The project also involved capital dredging of the navigation channel and the docking area at an estimated cost of ₹29 crore. While dredging of the channel up to a depth of 5 metres is over, work at the docking area near the jetty is yet to begin as traditional fishing boats are berthed in the area, officials said.
Decongesting old port
Officials said the project, if completed on time, would have decongested the Old Port where demand for berthing of fishing vessels is increasing. Movement of cargo to and from Mangaluru through Kulur-Bengre road is easier compared to transporting it to the Old Port.
While almost all coastal cargo moving out of Mangaluru is destined for Lakshadweep, completion of a dedicated coastal berth would have opened up new avenues for cargo, they said.
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