The Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has asked the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA) and the Karnataka government to finalise a location along the northern Karnataka coast to construct a satellite port.
A statement by the NMPA said that the Chintan Baithak, which was organised by the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways at Madikeri in Kodagu district recently, discussed the issue of constructing a satellite port at Belekeri or any suitable location in the northern Karnataka coast.
Check feasibility
Participating in the discussion, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Shipping Minister, asked the Chief Executive Officer of the Karnataka Maritime Board and Additional Chief Secretary to the Karnataka government, and the Chairman of NMPA to examine and finalise the location and the feasibility of developing a satellite port jointly by the Karnataka government and NMPA.
Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada are the three coastal districts in the State. New Mangalore Port, which is located in Dakshina Kannada district, is the only major port in Karnataka.