Guwahati, Feb 16: Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) and Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL), Dibrugarh have joined hands to set up a streamlined logistics chain for movement of feedstock for the petrochemical complex of BCPL at Lepetkata.
The MoU, signed in the presence of the Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and officials of both organisations, will help set up a streamlined logistic chain for movement of feedstock like naphtha, propane, pentane etc. from Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) for Lepetkata in Dibrugarh.
“On its return leg, the finished products and by-products are to be routed for distribution through the port for consumption of both domestic and international markets,” an official statement said.
The project also envisages setting up of a tankage facility for storing imported feedstock of BCPL like naphtha, propane, pentane, etc., at Haldia for which HDC and SMPK will provide land and railway connectivity.
Meanwhile, Union minister Sonowal flagged off a maiden voyage of a steel cargo-laden barge from the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata to Pandu port in Guwahati on Wednesday.
The cargo will move through the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBRP).
The maiden voyage is transporting a consignment of 1798 tonnes of TMT bars, manufactured by Tata Steel Limited in Jamshedpur. After unloading the consignment at Pandu, the barges will return with industrial coal cargo for discharge at Kolkata Dock System (KDS).
The barges will move along National Waterway 1 (river Ganga) onto IBRP and finally, on National Waterway 2 (river Brahmaputra).
Speaking on historic occasion, Sonowal said, “Under PM Gati Shakti, the government has envisaged an integrated approach towards communication that is efficient, economical and environment friendly.
“We want to use this opportunity and connect Northeast India with the HDC at SMP, which is already connected by railways, road and inland waterways. This will help optimise an asset like SMP to realise its full potential and allow the people of Northeast India to unlock the huge economic potential that it possesses.”