West Bengal government plans dedicated Tea Park on Kolkata port land

Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK, formerly Kolkata Port Trust) has identified land for a proposed tea park to be set up by the West Bengal government.

Rathendra Raman, Chairperson, SMPK, said that the port had received a request from the state government for a patch of land for the development of a tea park. “Tea is exported from here and the processes are done in Dubai. So they want to develop a tea park here with all the infrastructure in the city itself.” Raman said this while speaking at a special session on Kolkata Port organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday 2 Jan.

Sources in the tea industry said that if it materialises, then it would provide a much-needed opportunity for value addition to the tea industry and tea companies could avail the common facilities.

The land requirement for the project is about 10-12 acres. The SMPK would hand over the lease and the infrastructure would be developed by the state government.

Based on interest from the trade and industry, the SMPK is also looking to develop exclusive economic zones in the port area in Kolkata and Haldia.

“What we are looking for right now is 25 acres of land in Kolkata and 125 acres in Haldia. So the industry will get similar benefits as in a special economic zone. A similar facility is already there in JNPA,” Raman said.

SMPK’s landholding is about 11,000 acres – 4,500 acres in Kolkata and 6,500 acres in Haldia.

It is yet to be decided whether the exclusive economic zones would be in PPP-mode. “This is still at a discussion stage.” However, the port chairman explained that it would mean committed cargo for the port.

The port is chalking out different ways to scale up infrastructure. By 2030, it is looking to increase cargo handling capacity to 115 million tonnes (mt).In the last eight years, 16 mt has been added. Raman said that another 30 mt would be added in the next six years. “Almost all the development would be in PPP mode.”

From April to December 2023, SMPK handled 50.116 mt of cargo, registering a 4.69 per cent increase over the similar period last year. The port is expecting to end the year with a growth of over 5 per cent.