Kulai fishing harbour work to begin soon

Mangaluru: Work on Kulai fishing harbour is expected to begin soon. The project, which is being executed by the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) has already received 5 bids for the construction of the breakwaters as a beginning to the construction of the harbour and the tender is expected to be finalized soon. The entire project is expected to be completed by 3 years and the construction of the breakwater has the deadline of 18 months.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 196 crore. 50% of the cost of the project is borne by the ministry of shipping, while NMPT and the state government will bear a cost of 45% and 5% respectively. The harbour is being constructed by the port under the Mangalore Harbour Project with the intention to compensate the fishermen from Panambur, who lost out due to the construction of the port.

The project is being taken under the union government’s ambitious Sagar Mala project and a project monitoring committee has been set up for the construction of the harbour at Kulai. The design of the backwater has been approved by the Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station.

Kulai harbour is expected to house 600 traditional fishing and 450 mechanised boats that presently rely on the congested Bunder harbour. The new harbour will significantly reduce the congestion at the primary harbour. It will also act as a new base for fishermen operating from Boloor and Mulki.