Nitin Gadkari urges domestic investors to pump money into shipping sector, promises assistance

Mumbai: Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday urged domestic investors to pump their money into the various programmes undertaken by his ministry and promised them every assistance to them to improve waterway connectivity. [caption id=“attachment_4757981” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Nitin Gadkari. AFP[/caption] “We have come up with many innovative models. The Sagarmala project has opened huge investment opportunities to the private sector. We also have plans for RoRo services, hovercraft, catamarans, seaplanes among others where we want domestic companies to come forward and invest,” he told a panel discussion on ‘Coastline - Engine & Wheel of Economic Growth,’ on Monday evening. Talking about the ambitious Sagarmala project, Gadkari said it has a potential of nearly Rs 16 trillion of which around Rs 4.53 trillion is expected to come into port mechanisation and port modernisation. The minister also said the government is undertaking projects worth Rs 2.35 trillion under the Sagarmala project in Maharashtra alone. He said projects worth over Rs 1.50 trillion are in various stages of implementation, while the work on remaining Rs 85,000-crore projects is yet to begin. But he was quick to add that work on these projects, starting with the preparation of detailed project reports, will be initiated soon. The minister also said the government is planning to have waterway connectivity to the airports in the megapolis on the similar lines of the system in Venice in Italy.