Odisha eyes Sagarmala project

In order to make the most out of the on-going Sagarmala project, the state government in Odisha urged the Centre for infrastructural development across ports in the state and improvement of evacuation infrastructure in Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) under its Sagarmala project to give a big push to coastal shipping in the state, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said that the state has three major ports at Paradip, Gopalpur, and Dhamra and needs good rail and road connectivity to these ports to be able to meet the target of inland shipping. In a workshop in Bhubaneshwar organised to promote coastal shipping and inland navigation, it became clear that Paradip port has recorded excellent growth last year and its coastal shipping record is also good and the better infrastructure would enhance port connectivity and encourage coastal shipping of commodities to reduce overall logistic costs.