India has outlined 58 port and port-linked projects in Odisha worth more than INR 563.5bn ($5.84bn) and expected to add about 83m tonnes of annual capacity, according to a written Rajya Sabha reply published by India’s Press Information Bureau.
Indian Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal set out the programme on 21 July. Six projects costing INR 3.502bn ($36.3m) have been approved for financial assistance under the Sagarmala scheme, while another 52 projects worth about INR 560bn ($5.81bn) are being taken forward by public-sector bodies.
One Sagarmala-funded project costing INR 37m ($384,000) has been completed. Five projects with a combined value of INR 3.465bn ($35.9m) remain under implementation.
The six-project package covers Ro-Pax jetties between Kaninali and Talchua and between Balugaon and Krishnaprasad Gada, the modernisation of Paradip fishing harbour, a fishing harbour at Chandipur and two coastal skills programmes.
The wider portfolio includes port, rail, road and logistics work serving Paradip, Dhamra, Gopalpur, Astaranga and Subarnarekha. Completed schemes include the Paradip multimodal logistics park, the Haridaspur-Paradip railway and the Angul-Sukinda rail link.
Projects under development include an INR 76bn ($788m) smart industrial port city at Paradip, INR 30.05bn ($312m) of inner-harbour deepening and optimisation, an INR 46.95bn ($487m) third railway line between Bhadrak and Vizianagaram and the INR 37.47bn ($389m) Duburi-Chandikhole-Paradip highway project.
The programme is expected to support more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs, including about 2,000 linked to the six Sagarmala-funded projects.
The proposed National Waterway 5 remains in the approval process. It is intended to connect the Talcher and Angul mineral belt and the Kalinganagar industrial area with Paradip and Dhamra ports, with completion expected within five years of approval.
Paradip Port Authority is an autonomous major-port body under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Container Corporation of India is a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Railways specialising in container rail transport, terminals and multimodal logistics.