Bhubaneswar, Nov 10 : Paradip Port Trust Tuesday signed a concession agreement with Essar Paradip Terminals for construction of deep draught coal berth, the port authorities said.

The coal berth will be developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 408.8 crore by the concessionaire in 36 months, the authorities said in a statement.

Paradip Port will provide supporting facilities like dredging of channel, railway connectivity and back-up area at an estimated cost of Rs. 70.21 crore.

On completion of the coal berth, the capacity addition to the port will be 10 million tonnes per annum, the statement said .

"Since the dredging of the channel is in progress, the depth of the proposed channel and berth will be 17.1 metres which will facilitate handling large cape size vessels up to 1,25,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage)" it said.

"The concessionaire, Essar Paradip Terminals Ltd, has offered a revenue share of 31 percent to the port during the concession period of 30 years," the statement added.

Essar Paradip Terminals is a special purpose vehicle formed by Essar Shipping Ports and Logistics Ltd and Essar Shipping and Logistics Ltd.

Paradip Port is one of India's major ports located in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district, some 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.(IANS)