Bhubaneswar: Chairing the first meeting the of State Sagarmala Committee, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday said the project can further enable Odisha to emerge as a major logistics destination.
Patnaik said that port-led development through industrialisation and connectivity are major focus areas of Sagarmala project. “We will also be prioritising the coastal community development as an integrated part of this initiative,” he said.
Stating that Odisha has the advantage of being strategically located with a long coastline, he said, “We have a rich cultural heritage of maritime trade. We can become India’s gateway to South East Asian countries.”
Apart from Paradip port, he said, the state government has been facilitating the development of various ports along Odisha’s coastline.
The Chief Minister further said that the State Maritime Board is expected to be fully functional in the coming months. Hopefully, the Board will act as a catalyst for overall development of the maritime sector in the state.
He asked for close coordination with various departments and resolving the issues for timely completion of projects under Sagarmala. He urged all the departments concerned to prioritise these projects.
Commerce & Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera said that Sagarmala programme aims at port-led development and improvement of waterways. For the success of the programme, state need cooperation of the Centre and local authorities, the minister added.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra said that all departments need to prepare projects under the Government of India guidelines and maximise project approval.
Welcoming the members, Commerce & Transport secretary Madhusudan Padhi made a presentation on the Sagarmala project in the state.
As per the presentation, the state has three ports in operation – Paradip, Dhamra and Gopalpur. As many as four ports – Subarnarekha, Astarang, Riverine port at Kendrapara and Jatadhari Muhan port – are in the pipeline. Besides, there are eight potential locations for development of ports.
The Sagarmala project has a vision of port-led development across the coast of India. It aims at port modernisation, port connectivity, port-led industrialisation and coastal community development. The projects under will get 50 per cent funding from the Centre.
Under this programme, the state government has submitted 14 project proposals of various departments including Fishers and Animal Resources Development, Chilika Development Authority (CDA), Commerce & Transport and Works department.
Out of these, only two projects of Commerce & Transport department, Ro-Pax Jetty and Allied Infrastructure in Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balugaon and Puri districts, have been sanctioned by the Centre, official sources said.
Idco’s CMD Sanjay Singh said three logistic park projects at Dhamra, Gopalpur and Subarnarekha are under preparation. The proposals will be submitted to the Union government soon. Other departments were asked to finalise projects under Sagarmala project.
