A two-day Summit on Prime Minister Gati-Shakti Multimodal Maritime was inaugurated here on Tuesday under the joint aegis of the Paradip Port Authority and the State and Central Governments.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra said, “Odisha is a maritime State and has strategic locations for coastal shipping. Our coastal line is quite suitable for development of deep ports. 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. The PM Gati-Shakti will accelerate the growth of coastal shipping.”
Mahapatra said Odisha would soon become one of the biggest hubs in coastal shipping of minerals and finished products.
Divisional Railway Manager Rinkesh Roy said, “East Coast Railway is the No-1 freight loading zone in the entire Railways. Paradip is the second largest port in terms of the volume handled through rail link network.”
Joint Secretary, Sagarmala Projects of Government of India, Bhusan Kumar gave a blueprint of the converged mechanism put in place for successful implementation of Gati-Shakti projects.
IWAI Vice-Chairman Jayant Singh said Odisha with its long stretches of water mass across different regions possesses immense potential for development of inland waterways.
Paradip Port Authority (PPA) Chairman PL Haranadh said the Paradip Port in its 56 years of cargo handling service would attain a record 125 MMT annual traffic in FY 2022-23. He added, “During the Amrit Kal, Paradip will be the Port of the Millennium by having a capacity of more than 500 MMT by 2047.” PM Gati-Shakti would be the prime mover of this transformation, he added. PPA Deputy Chairman AK Bose presented the past, present and future prospects of the Paradip Port.
