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Our Bureau

Kolkata. Aug 5

THE Union Ministry for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways will shortly submit a revised plan for the `Sagarmala' project to the Cabinet for approval.

Conceived by the NDA government, the project aims at improving the existing port logistics in India at an estimated cost of Rs 1 lakh crore. In its revised format, the project will be implemented in phases.

Addressing a press conference here the Union Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, said that the project was still in the "concept stage" and would be placed for Cabinet approval "as soon as possible in this fiscal".

The Minister said that improvement of basic port infrastructure such as draft was essential to increase the cargo handling of Indian ports. "I am interested to take up the Sagarmala project at an appropriate time in a phased manner and through private-public partnership programmes."

On whether the Government will float any special purpose vehicle (SPV) to finance the project, he said project would be developed as the culmination point of several projects taken up by existing ports in the country. "All the major ports are eligible to raise funds and develop the infrastructure," he added.

On the proposed revival of inland waterways to enhance transport, he said the issue was yet to be finalised. Talking specifically about the Central Inland Waterways Transport Corporation, Mr Baalu said the decision on the fate of the Central PSUs was still pending.

Earlier, Mr Baalu said close to 50 per cent of the Rs 54-thousand-crore golden quadrilateral project had already been completed. The deadline for completion has been rescheduled to 2005.

The contracts for the proposed North-South and East-West corridors would be finalised before March 2005 and the project would be completed in 2007. The combined project size of the golden quadrilateral and the NS and EW corridors was pegged at Rs 65 thousand crore.

Port in Sagar Islands

The Union Minister also expressed interest in the proposal for development of a new port in the Sagar Islands. The proposal was put forward by the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattcharjee, at a meeting with Mr Baalu in Kolkata .

"We are positive" about the proposal to develop a full-fledged port at Sagar Islands, Mr Baalu later told newspersons.

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