The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) is a 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel. DPCL has been awarded a concession by Government of Orissa to build and operate a port north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district on BOOST (Build, Own, Operate, Share and Transfer) basis for a total period of 34 years including a period of 4 years for construction. The lease period may be renewed or extended for two additional periods of 10 years each on mutually agreed terms and conditions.

Situated between Haldia and Paradeep, the port at Dhamra will be the deepest port of India with a draught of 18 meters, which can accommodate super cape-size vessels up to 180,000 DWT. The master plan provides for 13 berths, capable of handling more than 83 million MT per annum of dry bulk, liquid bulk, break bulk and containerized cargo.

During Phase-I, DPCL is constructing two fully mechanized berths of 350 meters each along with backup facilities for handling imports of coking coal, steam/thermal coal, limestone and export of iron ore. The Company is also laying a 62 kilometers rail link from Dhamra to Bhadrak on the main Howrah-Chennai line. The estimated capacity of Phase-I is 25 million MT per annum.

The Company has achieved Financial Closure for Phase-I of the project in February’07 with signing of a loan agreement with the consortium of lenders led by Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). The construction of Phase-I has commenced in March’07 and port is expected to be ready for commercial operation by March'10.

The port has received all the necessary clearances including environmental clearance from Government of India and consent from Orissa Pollution Control Board. The port has also received rail traffic clearance from Indian Railways with whom it has signed an MOU for constructing a 62 km railway line from Bhadrak to Dhamra.