He also added that last year the KoPT had done a business of around 57.32 million tonne, but this year the business is expected to come down to 56 million tonnes.

In an interactive session on the preparedness of the Kolkata port in meeting the expanding business opportunities, Chanda once again stressed on the importance of the Diamond Harbour project.

“Diamond Harbour project will solve the draught problem as it is closer to the sea. The project site did not require any dredging in the last 15 years,” said Chanda. The project is expected to be based on a public-private partnership model and the port will have four jetties and two barge jetties. The cost of the project is over Rs 1,000 crore.

The KoPT director also said that expansion was the only way to save the Kolkata port. He added that it was imperative at the moment to work on the existing infrastructure and make sure that they are being used to the best of their capacity.