The Union Ministries of Defence and Road Transport and Highways and Shipping are in the process of working out a plan to rejuvenate the shipbuilding industry in Goa, which is reeling under the shock of the prolonged mining ban.
Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was on a visit to Goa Shipyard limited, a Central Government-run undertaking, also said that a 20 per cent subsidy had already been given to the shipbuilding industry in general and that the aim was to building shipping related infrastructure in order to boost marine trade and generate employment.
“I have already spoken to Parrikarji. We are trying to work out a way in which the shipbuilding industry in Goa can be rejuvenated,” Gadkari said.
The Minister also said that his Ministry, along with the Defence Ministry were looking at ways in which the private shipbuilding establishments could be roped in to complete the existing marine requirements of the Defence Ministry.
“The shipbuilding industry has potential to create jobs and create infrastructure for the country,” Gadkari said.
Goa’s shipbuilding industry has been floundering for the last three years, first due to the ban on mining and subsequently, the delay in resumption of mining operations. Barges and other marine vessels are critical to mining operations in Goa because the extracted iron and manganese ore is ferried from mining leases deep in the hinterland to the port areas by the nearly 500 odd river barges, most of which have been manufactured as well as repaired in the numerous shipyards which dot the State’s rivers.
Gadkari also said that the Sagarmala projects, one of the key initiatives of the National Democratic Alliance Government would be in a position to provide nearly one crore jobs over the next few years.
“Through the Sagar Mala project, infrastructure in India’s ports as well as in coastal areas will be upgraded,” Gadkari said.
The ambitious Sagar Mala project aims at modernising Indian ports all across the southern peninsula and will also spruce up the road connectivity along the coastline, especially near ports to facilitate easy flow of goods for export and imports.