What is Sagarmala Programme?
The Sagarmala programme is the flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping to promote port-led development in the country through harnessing India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.
Aims of Sagarmala Programme
The main vision of the Sagarmala Programme is to reduce logistics cost for EXIM and domestic trade with minimal infrastructure investment.
- Implementation of these projects are being done by the Central Line Ministries, State Governments / Maritime Boards and SPVs preferably through the private sector and through the Public Private Participation (PPP) wherever feasible.
- Project theme-wise: Port Modernization, Connectivity Enhancement, Port Led Industrialization and Coastal Community Development
Initiatives under Sagarmala Programme to unlock the potential of Waterways
- Ministry of Shipping has notified licensing relaxation to foreign flag vessels for carrying transshipment containers, empty containers, fertilizers and agricultural, fisheries, animal husbandry and horticultural commodities on coastal routes.
- The licensing Relaxation for coastal shipping to special vessels such as Ro-Ro, Hybrid Ro-Ro, Ro Pure Car Carriers, Pure Car and Truck Carriers, LNG Vessels and Over-dimensional or Project Cargo is extended till 2021.
- Minimum 40% discount is offered by major ports on vessel and cargo related charges to coastal vessels.
- To promote inland water transport (IWT) in the country, 111 (including 5 existing and 106 new) National Waterways (NWs) have been declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016.
- NW-I (Ganga-Bhagirathi- Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia) in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal; NW-2 (River Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya) in Assam; NW-3( West Coast Canal from Kottapuram to Kollam along with Udyogmandal and Champakara Canals) in Kerala, have already been developed with fairway navigational aids, jetties and terminals with mechanised equipment handling facilities for loading of cargo.
- Feasibilities studies have been completed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for 106 new NWs
- To augment the navigational capacity on the Haldia-Varanasi stretch
on NW-1(river Ganga), the Ministry of Shipping / IWAI is implementing the
Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP).
- Under JMVP construction of multimodal terminals at Varanasi, Sahibganj & Haldia, Ro-Ro terminals, fairway development navigational lock at Farakka, channel marking systems etc., are being set up.
- Fairway development work in Vijayawada-Muktyala stretch of river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh (part of NW-4) has been completed.
