Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has fixed a two-year deadline for the completion of the Sagarmala project. The Minister was looking at an October dateline to get the project started given the detailed project reports for some of the work under the ambitious project were nearing completion.
“Sagarmala project, which is aimed at port-led development in coastal States, will immensely help in creating new employment opportunities and push economic growth of the country,” said Gadkari addressing a meeting of the consultative committee of the MPs attached to the Ministry of Shipping on Wednesday.
“The prime objective of the initiative is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure for transporting goods to and from ports efficiently and cost-effectively,” he said. Gadkari pegged the funds’ requirement in 2015-16 for implementation of projects in the initial phase of Sagarmala at Rs692 crore.
The Minister sought support from other Ministries, saying the project would place the ports as focal points for industrial growth and economic development, as per an official statement issued here.
“India has vast untapped potential of using rivers for transportation. The decision to enact central legislation to declare 101 additional Inland Waterways as National Waterways (NW) for navigation will go a long way in transforming transport sector in the country,” he said.