Modi announces Sagarmala project

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious ‘Sagarmala’ project for the maritime states which would become “gateways to India’s prosperity”.
The project would envisage not merely ports development, but port-led development including ports, special economic zones, rail, road, air and waterway connectivity with the hinterland, with linkages of cold storage and warehousing facilities, PM said while speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremonies of the port-based multi-product SEZ and its major component, the Port Connectivity Highway Project, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai.“The government has decided to expeditiously work out the Sagarmala project by integrating various components viz. port facilities, coastal ferry services, tourism infrastructure and inland water transportation and focusing on port towns and cities,” informed Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Krishanpal Gurjar in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
The SEA project near Mumbai will be established on 277 hectares with a total public and private investment of about Rs 4,000 crore. This is being planned as a self-sustainable integrated development project having a potential of generating over 1.5 lakh direct and indirect jobs, the ministry official said.
The SEZ to be developed through JNPT-SPV under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode is scheduled to be completed within three years.

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