Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (SMPK) has received government approval to construct a barge terminal at Balagarh, approx. 85 km upstream of Kolkata. The strategic project aims to ease road congestion in Kolkata by shifting a portion of the cargo currently handled by the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) to Balagarh.

Designed to handle 2.7 million tonne of cargo annually, the terminal will manage around 1.9 MT of container cargo (equivalent to 1,50,000 TEUs) and 0.8 MT of dry bulk cargo, including coal, pulses, peas, and fertilisers. The terminal's location on Balagarh Island, which spans about 900 acres, with SMPK owning approx. 308.75 acres—offers significant potential for expansion. The current project will be developed on 100 acres.

Situated along National Waterway 1 (NW1) between Haldia and Allahabad, Balagarh will act as an extended gate for the KDS, which includes Netaji Subhas dock, Khidderpore dock, and Budge Budge liquid jetties.

The terminal is expected to enhance cargo movement to the northern hinterland by utilising an additional 300 acres of land for storage. The navigational channel from KDS to Balagarh offers a draft of three mtrs., suitable for flat-bottomed barges with a 3,000 DWT capacity. The project will be executed in two modes - basic infrastructure -including road connectivity, construction of a road overbridge across a railway line, ground improvement, and dredging of the approach channel and turning circle, will be developed by SMPK under the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode.

Meanwhile, the terminal itself will be built in two phases with private investment under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.