Railways to invest Rs20,000-cr in 21 port connectivity projects

The ministry of railways will take up 21 port connectivity projects, involving an estimated expenditure of Rs20,000 crore, under the government's Sagarmala project, to provide last-mile connectivity and boost port traffic.

This is in addition to another six projects being considered by the Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd (IPRCL).

"The ministry of railways will be taking up 21 port-rail connectivity projects, at an estimated cost of more than Rs20,000 crore, as identified under the port-connectivity enhancement objective of Sagarmala," a shipping ministry release stated.

"Many port-rail connectivity projects have been identified as part of the National Perspective Plan, April 2016, under the Sagarmala programme including development of heavy haul rail line from Ib Valley/Talcher to Paradip. The project will help in transportation of thermal coal from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) to various coastal power plants in southern India through coastal shipping," the release added.

IPRCL has already awarded three connectivity projects for Vishakhapatnam and Chennai ports for quick evacuation of cargo and another 19 projects are in the pipeline. The project will help in transportation of thermal coal from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to various coastal power plants in southern India through coastal shipping.

Other rail connectivity projects like Tuticorin and non-major ports like Dhamra, Gopalpur, Krishnapatnam have also been proposed.

These projects will enhance port connectivity to the hinterland and help in reducing logistics costs and time for cargo movement making Indian trade more competitive.

Sagarmala, the flagship programme of the ministry of shipping, aims at promoting port-led development along India's 14,500-km-long coastline.

"More than 150 projects have been identified which will mobilise investment of more than Rs4,00,000 crore and generate approximately ten million new jobs, including 4 million direct jobs, over a period of 10 years," the statement said.

These projects are expected to result in annual logistics cost savings of around Rs35,000 crore and provide boost to merchandise exports by $110 billion by 2025.