The state of Odisha will soon become one of the major centres in coastal transportation of minerals and completed goods, according to the state’s government, which made this claim on Tuesday.
At the two-day summit on Prime Minister Gati-Shakti Multimodal Maritime, which was inaugurated in Bhubaneswar under the joint auspices of Paradip Port, the state government, and the Center, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra made this statement.
The Chief Secretary addressed the summit as the chief guest and noted that Odisha is a maritime state with a strategic location for coastal shipping and a coastal line that is well suited for the development of deep ports.
“Eastern part of India including Odisha is growing at a fast rate. Odisha is supplying thermal coal, iron ore and manganese to a large number of States in India. The growth rate will be faster in coming years,” Mahapatra said.
Observing that the PM Gati-Shakti is a pan-Indian platform, he said it would hasten the development of coastal shipping by addressing the crucial issues of significantly lowering the logistical costs of mineral transport.
“It is a comprehensive and converged platform of all the related departments in both state and Central government along with other stakeholders,” he said.
The planning and decision-making for the industry would be more accurate and swifter with the uploading of information by all parties involved. Additionally, it would significantly streamline corporate operations for investors.
Odisha would soon rank among the top hubs for the coastal shipping of finished goods and minerals because it has the necessary potential and a strategic location.
He gave the delegates the reassurance that the state government will provide whatever assistance necessary to put the summit’s two days’ worth of suggestions into action.
Senior railway official Rinkesh Roy, who attended the opening session as the guest of honor, noted that Paradip is the second-largest port in terms of the volume handled by the rail link network, while East Coast Railway (ECoR) is the top freight loading zone in the entire railway system. Large mining and industrial areas are present in the area, and ECoR is working to expand its rail network in Odisha from mining and industrial areas to the port.
Bhusan Kumar, joint secretary of the Sagarmala Projects, provided a blueprint of the unified framework set up for the effective execution of Gati Shakti projects. Through PM Gati Shakti, he claimed that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has given improving connectivity to more than 50 non-major operational ports first priority. More than 107 connectivity gaps were found in this detailed port connectivity strategy and are already being addressed.
Jayant Singh, vice-president of the IWAI For seamless multimodal transportation, inland rivers are the easy pickings. The development of inland waterways has enormous potential in Odisha because of the state’s extensive water mass in various regions.
Chairman of Paradip Port Trust P L Haranadh said Paradip Port would attain a record 125 MMT annual traffic in 2022-23. “During the Amrit Kal, Paradip will be the Port of the Millennium by having a capacity of more than 500 MMT by 2047,” he said, adding that PM Gati-Shakti would be the prime mover of this transformation.
Prasanta Patnaik