He said that out of the 12 consortia that have submitted papers for request for qualification (RFQ), three have been selected for the request for proposal bidding (RFPB). After scrutinising the technical and financial bids of the three consortia, the government appointed an expert committee which would select one for the port development job under Boost scheme, Patnaik added.

The three consortia that have qualified for the bidding are led by International Seaport Pte. Ltd and IPCO International Ltd. of Singapore and Porkapalan Borhand of Malaysia. While the International Seaport Pte is a consortium of Larsen & Toubro, SSA International Inc of the US and Precious Shipping PublicCo. Ltd, IPCO International Ltd has Raytheon, Ferrostal AG and EIC Infrastructure as its major partners. Porkpaland Borhand has BHPE Kinhill and Satyam Construction as its partners.

Patnaik said that the state government is in a hurry to build the port which would help set up a chain of industrial activities in the state. Tisco's mega steel plant project and L&T's steel plant project would come up once the port is ready. Stating that the railway ministry is committed to the completion of Baitani-Bandspani rail link by 2001, he assured that the required infrastructure for steel projects would be ready in next three years.

Patnaik, who returned to Bhubaneswar after a discussion with the prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, told reporters that he urged the Centre to accord special status to Orissa. The state also appealed the BJP-led government to provide financial compensation to the state for it has suffered a loss of about Rs 2100 crore due to Tenth Finance Commission.