The Odisha government has signed an MoU with Gopalpur Port for the development and expansion of the facility in Ganjam district. After the signing of the MoU, the Odisha government has handed over more than 119 acres of land to Gopalpur Port.
The MoU was signed by Padmalochan Roul, Director of Ports and Inland Waterway Transport, Commerce and Transport department, and Janardan Rao, CEO of Gopalpur Port Private Limited. The signing took place in the presence of Tukuni Sahu, the Commerce and Transport minister.
Gopalpur Port was previously operated by the Odisha government as a seasonal lighterage Port. It has now been awarded to Gopalpur Ports Private Limited to be transformed into an all-weather direct berthing port in PPP mode. The Concession Agreement between the Odisha government and Gopalpur Ports Private Limited was signed on September 14, 2006.
Currently, the port has three berths that can accommodate multiple vessels with a length of 800 meters. It has an annual cargo handling capacity of 20 MMT. The port has also created employment opportunities for around 8,000 people.
