Gati Shakti master plan: DPIIT to monitor, implement infra projects

With the launch of the national master plan for multimodal connectivity or PM Gati Shakti on October 13, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) would become the nodal ministry for monitoring and implementation of all infrastructure projects.

Till now, the government’s policy think tank, NITI Aayog, and the finance ministry’s department of economic affairs were the key bodies to spearhead the overall infrastructure project implementation, apart from individual ministries handling their respective projects.

The launch of the master plan is expected to boost infrastructure building by integrating key modes of transportation — road, rail, air, waterways, thereby reducing logistics costs. An online portal would be launched that would integrate the existing portal and data of key infrastructure ministries. It will provide real-time access to information and data on various infrastructure projects and help in better coordination among ministries.

Gati Shakti or the central monitoring portal is also emblematic of the government’s focus on infrastructure creation to accelerate economic growth.

The master plan, which was in the works for over a year now, would get the Union Cabinet’s approval on Wednesday, followed by a launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Business Standard had last month reported that the master plan would be launched in October.

Meanwhile, in line with the Gati Shakti plan, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has finalised a blueprint for setting up multi-modal logistics parks, in collaboration with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The authority would act as the nodal agency for these logistics parks and work in association with the state government and various state agencies for the execution of these warehousing facilities.

According to an official in the know, bids would be invited from the logistics companies by November for setting up multimodal facilities in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and Bengaluru (Karnataka) to begin with.

The companies would act to submit bids within 90-120 days from the date of the announcement and the highest bidder will be awarded the project. The companies with a net worth equivalent to 25 per cent of the project cost would be eligible to participate in the tender. These multi-modal logistics facilities would be exe­cuted on a public-private partnership, with a project com­p­letion timeline of two years.

As far as multimodal connectivity is concerned, in the case of Nagpur, the logistics facility would be connected via all modes of travel i.e. air, railways, road, and port. The dry port in Nagpur would be aligned with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. The facility or the special purpose vehicle would be a joint venture of NHAI and JNPT.

In the case of Chennai, the connectivity would be via railways, road, port, and airport. The project would be executed by the Chennai Port Trust, Tamil Nadu government and NHAI.

However, in the case of Bengaluru, the facility would initially only be connected via road and rail, and the project would be undertaken by NHAI and Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation.