Odisha, a maritime state, is strategically located for coastal shipping.  While the eastern part of India is growing at a fast pace, Odisha has an advantage with a coastline which is quite suitable for the development of deep ports.

The state is supplying thermal coal, iron ore and manganese to a large number of states in India. The growth rate is expected to be faster in the coming years, according to state Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra.

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Speaking at a two-day summit on Prime Minister Gati-Shakti Multimodal Maritime, Suresh Chandra said, “The PM Gati-Shakti is a pan Indian platform that would address the critical issues of reducing logistic cost of mineral transport substantially, and thereby accelerate the growth of coastal shipping.”

He said it is a comprehensive and converged platform of all the related departments in both the state and central governments along with other major stakeholders.

With the uploading of information by all concerned, the planning and decision making for the sector would be more perfect and faster. It will also bring the real ease of doing business for the investors, Mahapatra said.

Odisha will soon become one of the biggest hubs of coastal shipping of the minerals and finished products. The state government will extend all help for implementation of the recommendations of this two day Summit, the chief secretary added.

Speaking on the occasion, Divisional Railway Manager Rinkesh Roy said, “East coast railway pointed out that the number one freight loading zone in the entire Railways. Paradip is the second largest port in terms of the volume handled through the rail link network. The region, he said has a huge mining and industrial belt.

The east coast railway is on its path for augmentation of its rail network in Odisha from mining and industrial points to the port, Roy added.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways prioritised improvement of connectivity to more than 50 plus non-major operative Ports through PM Gati Shakti. In this comprehensive port connectivity plan, more than 107 connectivity gaps were identified for abridging port connectivity, Union Joint Secretary Sagarmala Projects Bhusan Kumar said.

“Inland waterways are the low hanging fruit in seamless multimodal transportation.  Odisha with its long stretches of water mass across different regions possess immense potential for development of inland waterways”, Jayant Singh, Vice Chairman, IWAI said.

The Paradip Port in its 56 years of cargo handling service would attain a record 125 MMT annual traffic in FY 2022-23. Paradip will be the Port of the Millennium by having a capacity of more than 500 MMT by 2047”.  Chairman Paradip Port P.L. Haranadh said.