Minister of Shipping, Road transport and Highways Sh. Nitin Gadari laid the foundation stone for eight connectivity projects worth Rs. 1117.03 crores at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). Following is the list of the project for which the foundation stones were laid:
| S.No | Project | Cost |
| 1 | Integrated Common Rail Yard Facility at JNPT | Rs. 250 crore |
| 2 | Connecting 4th Terminal of JNPT with Rail | Rs. 100 crore |
| 3 | Jasai-JNPT 3rd Railway Line | Rs. 150 crore |
| 4 | Flyover at North Gate | Rs. 127.45 crore |
| 5 | Integrated Centralised Parking for Tractor-Trailers | Rs. 149.31 crore |
| 6 | Construction of Coastal Berth | Rs. 142.32 crore |
| 7 | Flyover at Y Junction | Rs. 82.95 crore |
| 8 | Restructuring of Yard behind shallow water berth | Rs. 115 crore |
All these projects will enhance connectivity to JNPT. Port Connectivity is among the four pillars of Ministry of Shipping’s flagship Sagarmala programme.
Speaking at the occasion Minister for Shipping Sh. Nitin Gadkari said, “Under the aegis of Sagarmala project there are huge investments which will lead to better infrastructure and creation of new jobs. This will also give a big push to Indian exports. A lot of companies have shown interest in acquiring land for setting up factories in the JNPT SEZ zone. This will give rise for need of skilled manpower. I have requested JNPT Chairman to appoint a coordinator who will look into the requirements of these new companies and help in train the local youth from Raigad and Konkan areas to meet the specific needs. Our aim is to increase efficiency and improve the development in and around the port areas by continuously undertaking new initiatives.”
Shri Anil Diggikar, Chairman JNPT said at the function, “JNPT is fully focused on creating world-class infrastructure to enable hassle free trade and contribute to the ease of doing business. Efforts aimed at improving the infrastructure at JNPT has already started bearing results as congestion has come down to zero and tonnage handled scaled to a record high of 4.5 million TEU for the year ended March 2017. We are confident of achieving further growth in the coming years with further improvement in efficiency and better infrastructure facilities”.
Senior officials from relevant departments and representatives from the industry were also present during the foundation stone laying ceremony.
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