Government set to launch Rs.5 lakh crore Sagarmala projects
The Government of India is looking to launch projects worth Rs.5 lakh crore for the Sagarmala initiative, report said. The new projects are expected to be launched before the program reaches completion in May 2019. The reports stated that with nearly Rs.12 lakh crore budgeted for the program, the government will invest Rs.8 lakh crore into industries and Rs.4 lakh crore into port connectivity.
Sagarmala initiative
The Sagarmala project is an initiative by the Indian government to improve the infrastructure along India's ports. This initiative targets the overall development of the country's coastline and integrating the ports with other forms of logistics such as rail, road and inland. The project was launched earlier last year and aimed to develop 12 ports in India, apart from another 1208 islands.
Union Minister for Shipping highlights program's initiatives
"This plan is based on four strategic levers: Optimizing multi-modal transport to reduce the cost of domestic cargo, minimizing the time and cost of export-import cargo logistics, lowering costs for bulk industries by locating them closer to the coast and improving export competitiveness."- Nitin Gadkari.
Sagarmala project's aim and targets
When the program was launched, the government targeted increasing the cargo traffic in the country nearly three-fold, over the next five years. Set to benefit at least 13 states, data showed that around 14% of the country's population will have a positive impact with this project. Apart from the initiative for ports, the project will focus on improving inland waterways, benefiting 55% in India.
Rs.35,000 crore: Annual synergies from Sagarmala project
Reports stated that the Sagarmala project would help save logistics' costs amounting to almost Rs.35,000 crore every year. The country's exports are also estimated to touch $110 billion by 2025.
