After receiving Cabinet approval in 2015, the Government of India launched the Sagarmala Project to support port-led development in India. The project aims to utilise the nation’s 7,500 kilometres of coastline to its fullest economic potential. The project also aims to improve the infrastructure for swift, economical, and efficient cargo transportation to and from ports.
It involves spending 8.5 trillion rupees (equivalent to 9.7 trillion, US$120 billion, or €120 billion in 2020) to build new mega ports, modernise India’s current ports, develop 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs), and promote coastal community development. The goal is to increase merchandise exports by US$110 billion and generate approximately 1 million jobs.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Canals’ flagship programme, the Sagarmala Programme, aims to advance port-led development in India by utilising its 7,517 km of coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways, and its advantageous location on major maritime trade routes. In order to enhance port-led development and develop coastlines to support India’s growth, Sagarmala plans to upgrade India’s ports. Additionally, it aims to “transform the existing Ports into modern, world-class Ports and integrate the development of the Ports, Industrial clusters, and Hinterland, and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland, and coastal waterways, resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity in coastal areas.”
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Components of Sagarmala Project
- Extending the capacity of current ports and creating new ports are both examples of port modernization and new port development.
- Port Connectivity Enhancement: Increasing port-hinterland connectivity, minimising transportation costs and times, and utilising domestic waterways as one of the multimodal logistics options
- Industrialization related to ports by the development of coastal economic zones and industrial clusters nearby
- Fisheries development, coastal tourism, skill development, and other activities that generate income are all examples of activities that support the sustainable development of coastal communities.
Sagarmala Project Objectives
The SagarMala project’s goal is to lower the cost of EXIM logistics. The project’s goals are as follows:
- Lowering the cost of domestic cargo transportation by maximising the mode mix.
- Locating potential industrial sites close to the ports to lower the cost of logistics for bulk goods.
- To improve export competitiveness, developing discrete manufacturing clusters close to ports.
- Minimising the time-cost of moving containers from export to import.
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