Bengal govt scraps Tajpur deep-sea port project, identifies new site 10 km away

THe Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) regime in w Bengal has decided to scrap the Tajpur deep-sea port wine throw in East Midnapore district proposed by the previous Mamata Banerjee administration and will shift the location of the proposed greenfield port to Dadanpatrabar, a coastal village 10km away.The Tajpur project was not viable due to paucity of land around the proposed project, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said after a meeting with Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal. On Wednesday, Adhikari met Karan Adani, managing director of Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd and son of business tycoon Gautam Adani, at the state secretariat.“I had a discussion with Karan Adani regarding the deep-sea port at Tajpur. They have already exited the project. We have seen that the project was not viable. The government had no land for rail-road connectivity and where warehouses could be set up,” Adhikari said.The Tajpur project had been in the works for years but hadn’t gotten off the ground due to one reason or the other.“We have come up with a new proposal. There is an alternative site at Dadanpatrabar, around 10 km away, where the government has around 1,700 acres of land. The government would move ahead with this. More land can be acquired later. A discussion was held in this regard with Sarbananda Sonowal. We are also ready if the project requires a revenue-sharing with the centre,” he added.In October 2021, the previous TMC government had issued the request for proposal for the development of the Tajpur. After successful bidding the state government awarded the Letter of Intent (LoI) of Tajpur Port to Adani Ports in October 2022. In December 2025, however, the state government floated a fresh tender for the project.Adhikari also announced that water metros would soon be introduced in Kolkata on River Hooghly.“Water metros are presently running in 17 cities across India including Kerala. It will be introduced in West Bengal. The Union minister has given his consent. Ours would be the 18th city,” he said.Adhikari also said Bengal would join the Centre’s Sagarmala 2.0 project and would send a proposal of ₹22,700 crore for developing port connectivity, coastal shipping, inland waterways, coastal community development and coastal fishing infrastructure.“At least 44 new jetties would be set up across the state. In Kolkata six ghats along the river are being renovated and beautified. Preliminary discussions have been held on creating up a separate shipping department in the state,” he added.