Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kolkata yesterday to discuss a proposed maritime investment pipeline of Rs 19,209 crore by 2031.
The meeting focused on transforming the state into eastern India’s leading maritime and logistics hub under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.
The investment roadmap includes development of the Balagarh Multimodal Logistics Hub, expansion and mechanisation of Kolkata and Haldia docks, strengthening of inland waterways, world-class shipbuilding and ship repair facilities, cruise tourism infrastructure, riverfront redevelopment and port-led industrial clusters.
The projects are expected to generate more than 62,500 direct and indirect employment opportunities.
Chief Minister Adhikari highlighted priority maritime projects including Sagarmala 2.0, a proposed tunnel across the Hooghly River, jetty infrastructure development, dredging of National Waterway-1, and protection of the Hooghly embankment.
The state government is also considering creating a separate shipping wing from the transport department and exploring development of minor ports on the lines of Gujarat and Odisha.
