Paradip Port(Odia: ପାରାଦୀପ ବନ୍ଦର) is an artificial, deep-water port on the East coast of India in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha. It is situated at confluence of the Mahanadi river and the Bay of Bengal. It is situated 210 nautical miles south of Kolkata and 260 nautical miles north of Visakhapatnam.
The land on which the port was built was once a mangrove swamp, used large by local villagers for hunting, fishing and the collection of wood. In 1948 the Port (Technical) Committee of the Government of India determined an additional port was required between Visakhapatnam and Calcutta.
This need for another eastern port became particularly obvious following Partition when the Port of Dhaka was separated from India.
In 1950 the Central Water & Power Commission proposed a Port between the Kolkata and Visakhapatnam, then Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik suggested construction of port in Paradip on Mahanadi river. The Paradip Port was the brainchild of Biju Patnaik.The foundation stone for Paradip port was laid on 3 January 1962 by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. The inscription on the black granite stone records a simple message in Oriya, English and Hindi: "Willed by the people, I commend you, to this another National Adventure". The State Government of Orissa started construction work on 15 March 1964, with the Central Government taking over management on 1 June 1965. The construction of Iron Ore Berth was completed and INS "INVESTIGATOR‟ had the privilege of maiden berthing in the port on 12 March 1966. The port was declared open by Mr. Peter Stambolić. The Port commenced operations with the export of a few thousand tons of iron ore, and has subsequently grown to the point of handling more than 50 million tonnes of cargo during the 1st decade of the 21st century.
