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The ambitious Sagarmala project and the industrial corridors being built in the country will give the economy a tremendous boost, bringing down the logistics cost substantially, according to Union Minister of Roads, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
He was speaking here at the partnership summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Saturday at a session on industrial corridors. He said the government was planning to spend Rs 15 lakh crores on the Sagarmala project and Rs 4 lakh crores would be spent on port modernisation and mechanisation projects.
Gadkari said, “in Visakhapatnam port, the second largest major port in the country, we have already executed schemes worth Rs 1,665 crores and for ongoing projects we are spending Rs 2,700 crores. Very soon, we we will take up projects worth Rs 1,200 crores or so. On the whole, we will be taking up projects worth Rs 6,000 crores in the near future.”
Raipur-Vizag road link
The Minister said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had sought road link between Visakhapatnam and Raipur, which is in the hinterland of the port, and a rail link. He said he would consider the proposal and the feasibility of the project would be examined.
He added that the National Waterway four (known during the British regime as Buckingham canal) would be revived from Kakinada to Chennai and onto Puducherry. The project would be taken up by the AP Government and the Union government at a cost of Rs 2,000 crores. The first phase would be completed in two years and the Dredging Corporation of India, Vizag port and also private companies would be involved in the project.
He also said that his ministry had taken up a number of road projects in the new Andhra Pradesh. “We are giving top priority to the State. The new capital, Amaravati, will be linked by road to all parts of the State and we will also invest in infrastructure projects. I assure the people of the State that at least projects worth Rs 1 lakh crores would be sanctioned for AP during our five-year term on roads, ports and other infra projects.”
Later, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the AP state officials signed and exchanged MoU documents for road projects in the new capital (Amaravati) region and other parts of the State. The total cost of the road projects was put at nearly Rs 1 lakh crore.
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