Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) initiatives would strengthen infrastructure and drive investment to improve regional connectivity and support trade.
During a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai, the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways discussed various projects related to ports and the shipping sector in the state under the MoPSW’s Sagarmala programme.
Stressing that maritime infrastructure plays a crucial role in the country’s economy, Sonowal said the Sagarmala project is in line with Maritime India Vision 2030 and aims to bring better facilities to the people of the coastal region. He said his initiatives would continue to strengthen infrastructure and drive investment to improve regional connectivity and support trade.
Sonowal further said: “There are 114 projects worth Rs 99,210 crore under the Sagarmala scheme. Out of the total 114 projects being carried out in the state of Maharashtra, 43 projects valued at Rs 2121 crore are partially funded by the MoPSW, of which 37 valued at Rs 1,388 crore, nine valued at Rs 279 crore have been completed and 17 projects in the Value of Rs 666 crore are under construction and 11 projects value of Rs 443 crore are in the development phase.”
He further said that the Sagarmala initiative has successfully enabled Indian ports to handle large volumes by making them more efficient and reducing the turnaround time of containers.
“Numerous projects have been undertaken in different categories such as port modernization, rail, road, cruise tourism, RORO, RoPax, fisheries, coastal infrastructure and skills development,” he said, noting that there are currently 31 Ro-Ro/RoPax projects in Maharashtra, under the framework of the Sagarmala program of the MoPSW.
He further said that the celebration of the maritime activities of the country’s coastal states – the Coastal States Pavilion – has been proposed for development in the National Maritime Heritage Complex.
He said, “Accordingly, for the state of Maharashtra, a land area of 14,000 square feet with a construction area of 6,000 to 8,000 square feet was established in the periphery of the Coastal States Pavilion of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) site.”
He also urged the state government to seize the opportunity and put on a grand display of the maritime history of the Maratha Empire and Shivaji Maharaj.
He further stated: “According to the great vision of our Prime Minister, the proposed NMHC will showcase India’s seafaring history and become an iconic destination in the future.”
Sonowal also emphasized the challenge of the projects in Maharashtra. He said: “16 projects funded by Sagarmala have been delayed for more than a year due to various technical issues and need immediate treatment for their successful implementation.”
The Union Minister assured that the MoPSW would give a major boost to ro-ro and passenger waterway transport as it is an environmentally friendly solution to mobility and will result in significant cost and time savings. RoPax facilities are developed by state or central authorities, and ship deployment and services are mainly carried out by private actors, he added.
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