Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Haldia Bulk Terminal, a fully automated dry bulk handling facility developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) at the Haldia Dock Complex of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata.

Designed with an annual capacity of 4 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), the terminal is positioned as India’s first fully automated dry bulk facility on the Hooghly river and is expected to strengthen cargo movement through the country’s eastern maritime corridor, the company stated in an official release.

Located on the western bank of the Hooghly river within the Haldia Dock Complex, the terminal has been developed under a 30-year concession through the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model by HDC Bulk Terminal Ltd. Construction began on July 14, 2023, and the project has now been delivered within its construction window.

The facility is designed to handle coal and other dry bulk commodities and has a draft of 8.5 metres with a berth length of 193 metres and extreme mooring points of 337 metres. The terminal is equipped with two mobile harbour cranes, two stacker-cum-reclaimers, a 2,000-tonne railway wagon loading system, a 2.10-km conveyor system and a 1.54-km dedicated railway line, enabling direct evacuation of cargo from ships to railway wagons.

According to the company, the integrated rail evacuation system will help reduce port dwell time and lower the delivered cost of raw materials for industrial consumers across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. “The Haldia Bulk Terminal is a next-generation facility that brings full mechanisation and direct rail evacuation to the Hooghly, setting a new benchmark for efficiency on India’s eastern seaboard,” stated Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer of APSEZ.

Gupta added that the facility eliminates jetty dumping and lowers cargo losses through automated systems, ensuring cleaner, safer and more sustainable operations while strengthening industrial supply chains in eastern India.

The east coast accounts for nearly 60% of India’s dry bulk imports, including coal, bauxite and limestone, making Haldia a key maritime gateway for the steel, aluminium and power industries in eastern India. The new terminal is expected to improve cargo handling efficiency and reduce turnaround times for these sectors.

APSEZ said the terminal’s railway wagon loading system and dedicated rail connectivity enable bulk cargo discharged from vessels to be loaded directly onto trains, facilitating faster evacuation and improving overall port productivity.