Karnataka to develop six minor ports under PPP mode

A textile park to come up in 1,000 acres at Yadagiri

The Karnataka government proposes to upgrade and modernise six out of 12 minor ports on the west coast under the public private partnership model to attract investment, a senior minister said.

"The state government intends to offer these ports on a 30 year lease basis to private companies under the Karnataka State Port Development Policy (KSPD) 2014. It will be a profitable venture for the state government," minister for textiles and ports Baburao Chinchanasur told reporters, here today.

The government has identified Belekeri, Manki, Tadadi, Honnavar, Pavinakere and Malpe in Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. Already, private companies like Ashraya Private Limited, Sri Renuka Sugars and an Andhra Pradesh-based companies have come forward to develop Belekeri, Manki and Honnavar ports respectively, he said.

The government will provide land at these ports, while the private companies will invest money, he said.

He said Ashraya Private Limited has shown interest to develop controversial Belekeri port at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore. However, the process has been delayed because of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing illegal export of iron ore from this port, he explained.

The government was also holding talks with JSW Steel for setting up a captive port at a cost of Rs 600 crore at Mavinakurve, the minister said.

Chinchanasur said the government is expecting an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the textile sector. The government is developing a textile park over 1,000 acres at Yadagiri and fifty companies have shown interest to invest there, he said. About 30,000 new jobs would be created by these companies, he said.

The state government has acquired 3,300 acres land at Yadagiri for developing an industrial township, of which 1,000 acres will be used for Textile Park, while the balance land will be allotted to various other industries. The state government is pitching for a mega investment from Coca Cola India, which has shown interest to set up their new bottling plant.

The department of textiles has requested handloom development corporation limited to supply 8 million metres of cloth for school uniform under the Vidya Vikas Scheme, for which Rs 44 crore will be spent, he said and added that uniforms will be supplied to Education Department in January next year.