Gopalpur port may resume operations from July 2015.

Battered by two back to back cyclonic storms, the Gopalpur port's road to revival has been delayed further.

The port that expected to restart operations by January 2015, is now looking at a revised timeline of July 2015 after very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud damaged the port's breakwater in October. Hudhud had made landfall near Visakhapatnam on October 12 and subsequently advanced towards Odisha coast.

'The port's breakwater has been badly damaged by the cyclonic storm. To reconstruct it, we need large stones that are not available easily. During our talks with the chief secretary, it was decided that the state government will form a technical committee within a month to sort out the problem,' said Mahimananda Mishra, managing director of Gopalpur Ports Ltd. (GPL), a 50:50 joint venture between Odisha Stevedores Limited (OSL) and New Delhi based Sara International Ltd.


BS