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Bhubaneswar: The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) has decided to set up a satellite port in the state. PPT chairman G Jagannath Rao has proposed to the state government to set up the facility at Bahuda Muhana in Ganjam district.
He has made the proposal in the backdrop of the shipping ministry showing interest for establishment of a new major port or a new ship building yard or a composite project incorporating both in Odisha.
Union minister of shipping GK Vasan, in a letter to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, had earlier proposed such a project as Odisha has a vast coastline of 480 km.
Vasan, in fact, had written to all the littoral states and evinced keen interest for large-scale investments in the port sector, which plays a vital role in the country’s economic development. This is because nearly 90 per cent by volume and 70 per cent by value of the country’s international trade is carried on through maritime transport, he said in his letter.
The Union minister requested the Odisha government to identify and provide around 2,000 acres of land for a port or a shipyard project as part of the state’s contribution.
Bahuda Muhan in Ganjam, where the coast length is of 15 to 20 km and backup land of around 2,000 acres is also available, is considered suitable for the satellite port, said sources.
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