Port connectivity projects of Rs 52,000 crore completed

Chennai: Under the Sagarmala programme, port connectivity projects with a total cost of Rs 52,199 crore have been completed across 10 states.

One of the objectives of Sagarmala Programme is to improve port connectivity, efficient cargo movement between ports and their respective hinterland to minimize overall logistics cost. The government has identified 266 projects of Rs 1,87,889 crore in 15 states under Port Connectivity Pillar of Sagarmala programme. These projects are either completed, are under implementation or are under development. These projects are to be implemented by the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, Ministry of Railways, major ports and other central and state agencies.

Of these, 84 projects with a total cost of Rs 52,199 crore have been completed. Among the top states, Odisha has completed 11 projects costing Rs 13,800 crore. Sixteen projects in Andhra Pradesh have been completed for Rs 9312 crore. Gujarat’s eight projects has seen investment of Rs 8048 crore.

Further, 54 projects costing Rs 66,994 crore are under implementation. Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of projects under implementation – 21 projects with a total investment of Rs 33340 crore. Tamil Nadu has 10 projects that cost Rs 10,956 crore, as per the government data.

Another 128 projects with an estimated cost of Rs 68,696 crore are under development. Maharashtra tops the list with 24 projects costing Rs 24810 crore. Odisha has 8 projects for Rs 11744 crore, followed by Gujarat with 22 projects that need investment of Rs 11316 crore and Andhra Pradesh with 17 projects costing Rs 11116 crore.

The government had made a report on ‘Connectivity of Ports to Industrial Nodes’ to assess gap analysis of connectivity of the seaports vis-a-viz all the existing and upcoming nodes under different industrial corridors. The report has identified 62 new road and rail infrastructure gaps across all industrial nodes.