Site selection and Pre-Feasibility Report for captive jetty at Village Dhunay, along Kori Creek, Kutch, Gujarat

Project Proponent Satyesh Brinechem Pvt. Ltd.

EIA Consultant

Environmental Consultancy and Laboratory

NABET/EIA/1417/RA010

Lab Recognized by MoEF&CC – Govt. of India

1 INTRODUCTION

Satyesh Brinechem Private Limited (SBPL) is planning to set up a plant for production of industrial salt by solar evaporation of brine. The location of the plant is finalised near Luna to the northwest of Lakhpat in Kutch, Gujarat. For exporting this cargo, a captive jetty facility is proposed to be developed at a location accessible from the plant.

Considering the location of the plant, it would be preferable that the marine facilities are located along the waterfront upstream of Kori Creek in Kutch. This would help achieve logistical cost savings. Further, the facility will also need to cater to any increase in cargo volumes in future.

In view of the restrictions on depths available in the Kori Creek and the average parcel size to be exported, it is proposed that the salt be handled through barges of appropriate size.

The cargo will be transported from the plant through trucks to the jetty and loaded onto the barges. These barges will be taken to the anchorage location for transferring the salt onto the bulk carriers (50,000 DWT i.e. Handymax size).

The salt cargo will be transported in trucks by road to the facility. It will be conveyed from the yard at the facility to the barge jetty and loaded onto the barges. The barges will carry the salt up to the bulk carrier at the anchorage location outside Kori Creek for transferring the salt onto the vessels. During the monsoon period, it is proposed that the cargo will be conveyed by road to Mundra port and exported from there.

2 PROJECT LOCATION

The waterfront upstream of Kori Creek is being explored to select locations for potential development options for the salt export facility in Kutch. The stretch of waterfront under study is located on the southern bank of Kori Creek, approx. 150 km from Bhuj. The main Border Security Force (BSF) Border Outpost (BOP) of the region is located at Koteshwar, located adjacent to Narayan Sarovar.

Kori Creek is a tidal creek located in the Rann of Kutch marshland, southeast of Sir Creek that forms the border between India and Pakistan. The creek bifurcates into two branches. The northern branch is in very close vicinity to the border. The location under consideration i.e. the southern branch, is along the Koteshwar Channel which is almost 40 km from India Pakistan border.

Figure 1: Location of Kori Creek

3 SITE CHARACTERISTICS

Kori Creek bifurcates into two branches. The area under study is on the southern bank of the southern branch of Kori Creek, along Koteshwar Channel (Figure 2-2). Since this area is in close proximity to the border of India and Pakistan, BSF patrol activities account for a significant part of activity in the creek. In addition, there are fishermen in the stretches from Kori Creek going up to Sir Creek, who are the other users of the creek.

Bathymetry

The bathymetry in this area is being studied from the NHO chart at this stage. Chart 201 shows the water depths at Kori Creek. While water depths upto -6 m CD are available along the Koteshwar Channel near Narayan Sarovar, the areas upstream of the channel towards Lakhpat have maximum depth availability of -2 m CD. The depths available near the mouth of Kori Creek vary from -1 m CD to -12 m CD with a number of channels, bars and shoals.

4 CARGO PROFILE AND VESSEL SIZE ASSESSMENT

4.1 Cargo profile

The jetty is to be developed primarily to handle captive salt export from the proposed plant. The estimated cargo throughput volume to be exported from the facility is 4.5 Mtpa for the initial 5 years. Two operating scenarios have been considered for the study: fair- weather operations and all-weather operations. If the facility is operated as a fair-weather facility, it will be functional for duration of 8 months in a year. During this period, 3 Mt will be handled from this facility and the balance volumes of 1.5 Mt will be exported from Mundra port during the 4 months of monsoon. In case of all-weather operations, the total volume of 4.5 Mt will be handled from the facility.

4.2 Vessel size assessment

The ship size considered for the proposed facility is Handymax (50,000 DTW) vessel based on the following considerations.

• Handymax vessels are equipped with ship gears; larger vessel sizes would require specialised transhipment equipment at the anchorage location. • In order to accommodate a larger vessel like Panamax with a depth requirement of above 16 m, the anchorage location will have to be located farther from the jetty location as compared to depth requirement of Handymax. This will add to the distance for barge movements. • Floating cranes would have to be deployed considering Panamax vessels are not geared. However, the option of using floating cranes should be considered during the DPR stage by carrying out a cost benefit analysis.

4.3 Frequency of ship calls

Two scenarios are studied as a part of this feasibility exercise:

• Fair-weather operations i.e. handling of 3 Mtpa in 240 days • All-weather operations i.e. handling of 4.5 Mtpa in 330 days

5 ALTERNATIVE SITES

Considering site connectivity, forest area, available draft and BSF border posts, three alternative sites have been identified in Kori Creek, as shown in Figure 2. They are:

1. Chher Moti 2. Budh Bandar 3. Dhunay

Figure 2: Alternative Sites

6 OPERATING CONSIDERATIONS

This chapter examines in detail the major operating considerations to be taken into cognizance while planning the jetty facility. These include studying the navigational features along the Kori Creek and potential site locations, identification of the anchorage location (including the downtime analysis) as well as determination of barge type and optimum barge size that can be used for operations at each of the site locations.

6.1 Bathymetry and navigational features

Kori creek is a fairly large tidal creek close the India– Pakistan border and the Sir creek. The creek system has large intertidal mudflats, due to the sedimentary nature of the region and high tidal ranges of 3 to 5 m. The creek system has a number of bars and shoals. These features are dynamic, indicating that a dredge channel can be expected to have siltation and thus maintenance dredging. At the entrance to the Kori creek, bar formations are seen in the hydrographic charts, and that the bathymetry changes at the entrance are significant, in terms of the braided channels. Thus, when larger changes in the bathymetry occur over time, there is a likelihood that navigation channels will also need to adapt accordingly.

6.2 Anchorage location

In order to identify the possible anchorage locations for the candidate bulk carriers, the following factors need to be assessed:

• Proximity to port location • Approach and departure routes • Available depth of water for anchoring and swinging circle • Navigational marks, prominent landmarks for visual and radar fixes, if any • Sea, wind, weather and tidal conditions • Geographical location e.g., at or near the mouth of rivers where sedimentation and siltation may alter the prevailing depth of water • Nature of the sea bed e.g., sand, mud, pebbles, rock, coral, etc. • Dangers to navigation e.g., shoal rocks, underwater obstructions, wrecks, etc. • Holding area for waiting barges and tugs • Traffic density e.g., fishing boats, harbour craft, ships etc. due to the vicinity of nearby ports • Communicable VHF range from nearby ports which could be used in an emergency

Identification of anchorage locations

Taking into consideration the various factors discussed above, two alternative locations are identified for locating the anchorage. Both the locations offer advantages and potential for operations are different at both the locations and are discussed below. The first alternative is a location outside the Kori Creek and the second alternative is at the mouth of the creek (refer Figure 3). The first alternative for the anchorage is proposed at a location outside the Kori Creek, at distance of 2.5 km from the 10 m contour. The distance of this anchorage location is approx. 32.4 nautical miles (60 km) from the site at Dhunay and 37.8 nautical miles (70 km) from Chher Moti.

The second alternative for the anchorage is proposed at the mouth of the Kori Creek, along the 13 m contour. The distance of this anchorage location is approx. 18 nautical miles (33 km) from the site at Dhunay and 23.5 nautical miles (43 km) from Chher Moti.

Figure 3: Anchorage Locations

7 DESCRIPTION OF CAPTIVE JETTY

This chapter assesses the functional requirements for the barge jetty facility for evolving the terminal plan, marine infrastructure layout and developing the scheme of operation for this facility.

7.1 Principle harbour dimensions

For safe manoeuvring of the vessels within the harbour a turning circle of 2.1 X maximum barge length is recommended.

The minimum width of a channel will primarily depend on the size and manoeuvrability of the ships navigating the channel and the effects of wind and current. The recommended total channel bottom width for single lane channels should be 3.6 to 6 times the beam of the design ship depending on the sea and wind conditions. For a two lane channel the total channel width will vary between 6.2 to 9 times the beam of the design ship. The width of a restricted channel should be measured at the bottom of the dredged depth.

Principle harbour dimensions

Principal harbour dimensions for developing the facility at Dhunay considering handling of 3000 DWT barges are as follows:

• Turning circle dia.: 160 m

• Basin/ berth pocket depth: -4.95 m CD

• Channel width: 130 m

• Channel depth: -4.95 m CD

Berth requirements

Total length of jetty required for operating barges of 3000 DWT is 285 m i.e. three berths of 95 m length each. This is assessed based on the provision of berth length of 1.15 times the barge LoA of 80 m. Accordingly, 3 berths of 95 m length are provided for the facility.

Approach Trestle and Back-up area

The offshore berths are connected to the shore via an approach trestle. The orientation of the approach trestle is towards northwest of the location. The approach trestle is 800 m long and 10 m wide. It will have a 7 m wide two-way road and 3 m wide corridor for conveyors, connecting the berths to the shore.

The approach trestle is connected to the back-up yard at the landfall point. The total size of the back-up yard is 562 m x 290 m. The storage area for salt, including stackyard, circulation space and the conveyor gallery is 527 m x 290 m. This area can accommodate 8 stockpiles of 225 m length and 30 m width, stacked upto 6 m height. There is a 10 m wide area between the stockpiles and 40 m wide space around the stockpiles to allow circulation of vehicles for unloading and stacking.

An area of 35 m x 290 m on the southern boundary of the storage yard houses the admin office, customs office, utilities and parking area. The gate complex is located at the southwest corner of the back-up plot, from where the trucks carrying the salt from the plant will enter and move towards the storage yard. An open area is provided in this zone between the offices and the gate, for parking of trucks/ payloaders etc.

A conveyor carrying cargo will run from the back-up yard, along the trestle and onto the berths. There will be loaders on the berth, which will receive the cargo from conveyors and will transfer it onto the barges.

The system is designed to achieve handling rate of 24,000 tpd including peaking. The storage is sufficient for 1,90,900 of cargo at a time, considering average dwell time of 14 days and 20% as peaking factor.

Figure 4: Layout of Captive Jetty 8 ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY Forest Land A major portion of approach to Dhunay using the existing BSF dirt track approach to Pinjor Pir is forest land and thus, would require clearance for undertaking any kind of development in that area. Site is 3.5 km away from Narayan Sarovar Bird Sanctuary. Hence, wildlife clearance is applicable. Mangroves are absent near site. Nearest mangrove patch is on opposite side of Kori creek almost 6 km away. BSF Presence The presence of BSF BOPs in close proximity to the site would result in restrictions with regards to operational control and convenience. It would also lead to increased trip time attributed to the clearances necessary for the vehicles conveying the cargo from the plant to the facility. At Dhunay, BSF BOP is located in close vicinity (<500 m). At Budh Bandar also, BSF BOP is located in the vicinity (~1 km) of the potential area of development. There is no BSF BOP located close to the site at Chher Moti. A BSF guard post is present near the shore at this site, but this is not expected to result in restrictions on SBPL activity.

9 PROJECT COST AND IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE Total estimated cost of project is 134 Cr. Implementation schedule will be as follows.