The center is committed to reducing the emissions from the shipping sector and promoting the development of net zero and low-emission solutions, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.
The minister said that all the Major Ports are to be made fully self-sustainable on electricity by 2030.
In the parliament today, Sonowal while giving another reply stated that the Indian Ports Association, an apex body of Major Ports, has been directed to integrate all Port’s Master Plan for vision 2047 and prepare a comprehensive Plan & report for Major Ports.
He highlighted that the Sagarmala program is the flagship program of the ministry 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.
Further notifying the parliament, Sonowal addressed the 800 projects that have been identified for implementation during 2015-2035 across all coastal states Eastern and Western sides of the country. The estimated cost of these projects is 5.5 lakh crore.
Sagarmala projects include projects from various categories such as modernization of existing ports and terminals, new ports, terminals, RoRo & tourism jetties, enhancement of port connectivity, inland waterways, lighthouse tourism, industrialization around the port, skill development, technology centers, etc.
Under holistic development of coastal districts, a total of 567 projects with an estimated cost of around ₹58,000 crores have been identified, he said.
An ambitious national initiative, the Sagarmala project aims to unlock the full potential of India’s coastline and waterways and reduce logistics costs and catalyze port-led industrial and infrastructure development along the coastline.
According to the minister, the concept of “port-led development” and the projects identified there, are focused on – Port Modernization, Port Connectivity, Port-led Industrialization, Coastal Community Development, and Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transport.
Further, Sonowala in another written reply said, “Government of India is committed to reduce the emissions from shipping sector and promote the development of net zero and low-emission solutions. By 2030, all the Major Ports are to be made fully self-sustainable on electricity. All the energy requirements of the port area are to be met through renewable sources. The initiative also includes Green Warehousing utilizing green/ natural solutions such as natural light or energy efficiency lighting, automated and compact storage systems, rooftop solar, using HVLS fans, and rainwater harvesting.”
He adds that to develop global standard ports in India, Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 has identified initiatives such as developing world-class Mega Ports, transshipment hubs, and infrastructure modernization of ports. MIV 2030 estimates the investments to the tune of ₹1,00,000–1,25,000 crore for capacity augmentation and development of world-class infrastructure at Indian Ports.
