Gati Shakti programme will bring in better coordination: Chennai Port Trust

Centre's Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure, would bring in better coordination among 16 ministries under one portal, Chennai Port Trust Chairman said

: The Centre's Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would bring in better coordination among 16 ministries under one portal, Chennai Port Trust Chairman Sunil Kumar Paliwal said here on Wednesday.

Modi earlier in the day launched a Rs 100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistics costs and boost the economy.

The PM Gati Shakti targets to cut logistics costs, increase cargo handling capacity and reduce the turn-around time, Modi had said at a function to launch the plan.

Briefing reporters here, Paliwal said what is being envisaged through the programme is coordination of 16 ministries like civil aviation, ports, highways and shipping, railways.

Paliwal who is the Chairman and Managing Director of Kamarajar Port Ltd, assumed additional charge as Chairman of Chennai Port Trust on October 1, according to CPT.

"All these Ministries are undertaking various projects and details of the projects will be put on this portal. Today, I do not know what projects the Railways are doing and they do not know which port is doing a project", he said.

Elaborating, he said one cannot put a new port in isolation and the new Port should have proper road connectivity, rail connectivity, telecom infrastructure and an airport nearby.

"When I put details about the new Port on the portal, it will be on the radar of Railways, and any permissions for signalling, it goes to PM Gati Shakti programme and there will be a better coordination with railways. Basically, to bring everybody together, that is what our Prime Minister has tried to achieve (through the launch of the programme)", he said.

Paliwal said Chennai Port had submitted the projects it has undertaken so far to the Centre to be integrated with the PM Gati Shakti Programme and would be sharing details of the future projects it would undertake in the coming days.

On the Multi-Modal Logistics Park to come up in Tamil Nadu at an investment of Rs 1,200 crore in Mappedu village in neighbouring Tiruvallur district, he said the Chennai Port Trust, TIDCO (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation) Ltd, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Ltd and Railways, which signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Tamil Nadu government, would have equity in the project.

"TIDCO has already started the land acquisition (for the project) and then we (Port Trust) will be bringing in a private partner to develop the infrastructure. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) would bring in (road and rail) connectivity from outside", he said.

Chief Minister M K Stalin had said that the project, to come up on 158 acres, would facilitate employment opportunities to the tune of about 10,000 in the region.