Ports Are Gateways to India's Prosperity: PM

RAIGAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious 'Sagarmala' project for the maritime states which would become "gateways to India's prosperity".

He said that the 'Sagarmala' 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.

"The development of India's ports is directly linked to creation of job opportunities, boosting industrial development, increasing exports, and resulting in the overall improvement in the economy," Modi said.

He was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremonies of the 6,000-crore port-based multi-product SEZ and its major component, the Port Connectivity Highway Project, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

Pointing out that two-thirds of all global trade and 50 percent of container trade happens through the Indian Ocean, the prime minister emphasized the importance of ports which had potential to become "Gateways to India's prosperity".

SEZ's can provide huge employment to local youths, thus preventing migration, and coupled with such activities, the development of manufacturing, service and industrial sectors, and infrastructure can improve the life of the countrymen, he urged.

He expressed concern at the large number of stalled SEZs around the country and said that a high-level team will review the situation and resolve them at the earliest.

Stressing the need to promote exports, Modi said that the government had recently convened meeting with states to identify bottlenecks in exports and they would be given permission to form their own export promotion councils.

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