Five new ports in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra coastline will soon have five new ports to cater to the needs of automobile and manufacturing industries as well as special economic zones being set up in the state.

All the ports are being constructed on a built-operate-transfer basis, state Chief Secretary D K Sankaran told PTI in New Delhi.

The ports, coming up at Rewas, Dighi, Jaigarh and Vijaydurg, along the Konkan coastline would adddress needs of various industries in the region as well as those being set up across the state. "Work on two ports -- Rewas and Dighi -- has already started," he said.

With a number of automobile companies looking to export from the state, as well as produce of the 73 SEZs, the government felt it necessary to develop the ports, Sankaran added.

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other three areas where the state government proposes to invite private parties for ports are Jaigarh, Vijaydurg and Ratnagiri.

"We have already invited expressions of interest for these three ports and we hope things move forward at a quick pace now," he said. Maharashtra houses two of the country's biggest ports -- Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva near Mumbai and Mumbai Port in the metropolis.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said 35 mega projects involving an investment of nearly Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) were coming up in the state.

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