VASCO
Mormugao Port Authority Chairman (Additional Charge) Rajiv Jalota on Monday highlighted the objectives of PM Gati Shakti “ National Master Plan, a common platform for coordination among 16 ministries, to arrive at a holistic approach for faster implementation of Infra projects in roads, railway, port, airport, waterways, multimodal and logistic, which are the engines for faster economic growth of the nation.
Jalota was interacting with the media on principles of PM Gati Shakti in the presence of officials of 16 central ministries.
He informed that the Mormugao Port is planning for Redevelopment of Berth 9 and three barge jetties on PPP mode for handling of iron ore exported from Goa.
The terminal will be fully mechanised at an expected cost of Rs. 842 crore with capacity enhancement of 12 MMTPA. The terminal will be boon to mining industries, barges and connected small and medium scale units in the State, he said.
Jalota also said that newly commissioned 4-lane Road Connection from Varunapuri to Sada Junction is a game changer to Mormugao/Vasco, as the diversion of trucks, Lorry Traffic from City has resulted decongestion of Vasco town.
MPA showcased the completed, ongoing and projects under implementation at Mormugao Port, state of art international/domestic cruise terminal with facilities being developed for faster immigration clearances, check-in counters, waiting lounge, baggage carousel etc. for international cruise passengers.
The Terminal is also planned for domestic arrival, will have check-in counters, waiting lounge, baggage carousel. Other facilities would include duty-free retail, lounges, food court, commercial building will have an experiential shopping zone aimed at cruise tourists, sale of local artefacts and products from cottage industries, restaurant accessible to the general public.
Taking advantage of river network, the MPA chairman said the scheme is designed to attract tourists to have a pleasant journey with well planned ROPAX and ferry services which will be available to tourists next to the cruise terminal.
Jalota also highlighted the commissioning of floating jetties at Panaji and Old Goa which provides impetus to river cruise for locals and tourists.
He informed the Bhaskacharya National Institute of Space Applications and Geo-Informatics. (BISAG) has created a portal for all 16 ministries, which is a common platform to map various layers of organisation aiming for better coordination among Ministries / Departments through satellite images.
The platform aims at boosting last mile connectivity, bringing down logistics cost with integrated planning with the overall objective to bring down logistics cost from present 13-14% of GDP to 7-8% to boost economic activities and create employment with sustainable development, he said.
