Ship-building clusters to come up in 5 states, says Sarbananda Sonowal

Ship-building and ship repair clusters will be established in five states including Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday.

Recognizing the strategic importance of shipbuilding and ship repair, the ministry is developing dedicated clusters in Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Gujarat, Sonowal said while highlighting the major accomplishments of his ministry in the first 100 days of the third term of the NDA government. In the next five years, the ministry projects container handling to reach an impressive 40 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit), creating 2 million job opportunities across the country.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) alone will scale up its handling capacity from the current 6.6 million TEUs to 10 million, he added.

The minister also said that 3,900 acres of land has been allotted in Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) and V. O. Chidambaranar Port ..