The Sagarmala project, which would promote port-led development in the country will immensely help in generating new employment opportunities and push up growth of the country, Union Minister of Shipping and Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari said.
“The prime objective of the initiative is to promote port-led direct and indirect development. It will also provide infrastructure for transporting goods to and from ports efficiently and cost-effectively,” Gadkari said while addressing the Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Shipping.
The minister stressed that Sagarmala project needs strong support as it will place the ports as focal points for industrial growth and economic development.
Underlining that the transportation through waterways is much cheaper compared to road and rail transport, he informed that India has vast untapped potential of using rivers for transportation and informed that if the 101 additional Inland Waterways declared as National Waterways (NW) for navigation it will go a long way in transforming transport sector in the country.
Asking for suggestions from the MPs on Sagarmala project and developing inland waterways, Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Shipping and Road Transport ans Highways said that the recommendations from the members will help in strengthening the project.
The project initiative aim to develop access to new development regions with intermodal solutions and promotion of the optimum modal split, enhanced connectivity with the main economic centres and beyond through expansion of the rail, inland water, coastal and road services.
The project intends to achieve broad objectives like enhancing the capacity of major and non-major ports and modernising them to make them efficient, thereby enabling them to become drivers of port-led economic development.