State maritime policy soon to strengthen ports, says official

Mangaluru: The government has plans to announce the state maritime policy for an overall development of ports in coastal Karnataka, said Gaurav Gupta, additional chief secretary to energy and infrastructure development department.He had virtually joined the CII-Karnataka Ports Conference 2023 on ‘PORTs – Backbone of Indian Economy and Atmanirbhar Bharat’ on Friday. “The contributions of ports are significant in development of states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala. Though Karnataka has a large number of ports, the state could not gain expected development. There is a need for improving connectivity from ports of the coast and other regions,” Gupta said. The central government has released Rs 1,000 crore under the Sagar Mala Project, he said, adding that 26 projects will be implemented under the scheme.Projects including Cochin Shipyard in Udupi, world class cargo shipyards in Malpe and Hangarakatte as well as an iron ore export facility at Keni-Belekeri port are in the pipeline. While ports in the Karnataka coast handle 30 million tons of cargo, New Mangalore Port handles about 50 – 60 million tons. Initiatives are being taken to improve the port connectivity and thereby increase the handling capacities of the ports, he said. Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Karnataka State Council, said that there is a need for development in tourism in the coastal region including the Western Ghats. “The coastal region with road and air connectivity has ample opportunity for export trade,” he said. New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) chairman Venkata Ramana Akkaraju said that the port, while contributing to the economic growth of the region, revenue to the tune of Rs 5,190 crore is generated through the customs duty. The business of the port will grow once the development of Shiradi Ghat national highway is completed by February 2024, he said, adding that the port received an average of 24 cruise vessels, each carrying about 3,000 tourists.