The National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) of the central government will meet on Friday to consider various policy measures for the development of ports and related infrastructure under the Sagarmala programme. In attendance will be Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, among others.
“The committee shall review the Sagarmala program along with review of development of port linked Road and Rail connectivity project, development of Floating jetties and Inland waterways besides other agenda items,” the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said.
So far, the ministry has completed projects worth Rs 99,281 crore since Sagarmala’s inception with a target of Rs 2 trillion by FY24. A majority of these projects pertain to connectivity of railways and roadways to major ports, enhancement of cargo terminal infrastructure, capacity expansion, development of floating jetties, and development of the country’s inland waterways network. The ministry estimates cargo handling through inland waterways to double to 200 million tonne (mt) by 2025. Port projects also account for 2 per cent of the Centre’s Rs 6 trillion national monetisation pipeline (NMP). Business Standard on Tuesday reported that the ministry missed its FY22 Monetisation targets by over 85 per cent, on account of delays in obtaining security clearance. Officials in the know say that the apex committee will also take up asset monetisation during the meeting, with the ministry tweaking its targets and adding more projects for this and the upcoming financial years.
