Paradip: Union Minister for Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal said Monday that the Paradip Port will become a ‘mega’ maritime facility and the area surrounding it will emerge as one of Asia’s prominent industrial hubs. As the country is celebrating ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate 75 years of Independence, Sonowal noted that the Paradip Port Authority, which came into existence post-independence, has achieved ‘success and created its own identity’.
“Under Maritime Vision 2030, the PPA will become a mega port and for this, employees as well as stakeholders, including exporters and importers, will have to play a crucial role,” the shipping minister said.
Sonowal also stated that the Paradip region is going to ‘become one of Asia’s prominent industrial hubs with large projects of around Rs 10,000 crore’.
Sonowal had Sunday asked the port authorities to augment its cargo handling capacity to 500 million metric tonne per annum by 2030. He also thanked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the state’s support in the development of Paradip Port.
“In future also, they (state government) should continue to provide support so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a strong and Atma Nibhar Bharat is realised,” Sonowal said.
The minister said the ‘PM Gati Shakti’ plan aims at providing systematic, multimodal connectivity to various economic zones for seamless movement of people, goods and services, resulting in the efficient conduct of logistics and economic activities.
“Our new generation should focus on innovation, start-ups, connectivity, industry, science and technology. There should be a coherent approach between the teaching community, parents and students,” Sonowal said while launching ‘Vidya Ashribad Scheme’ for local school students, belonging to the marginalised section of the society.
