KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, Dec. 10: With a coastline of 480 km, Odisha is all set to be the gateway for the industrialisation of mineral rich states of the country. While Odisha Government has signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) for setting up of 14 new ports in its coastline, the state can bring fortune to its neighbours primarily Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. This was stressed at a Port Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Odisha Chapter here on Wednesday.

“Odisha will play a vital role in the overall development of the country due to its rich natural resources and maritime endowments. For its immense natural resources like iron ore and other minerals and rapid industrialisation, ports in Odisha shall be the natural exit apart from serving land locked states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh,” said Sanjeeb Sahoo, Minister for Transport and Commerce, while inaugurating the Conclave.

The Conclave was held keeping in mind the heightened level of activity in the port sector that has made Odisha a critical node along the East coast and to provide a forum to different players to discuss and debate the various issues related to the port sector and its development. Industry captains deliberated on various issues ranging from the benefits of Public Private Partnership to special economic zones.

Stressing the importance of public private partnership (PPP) in this sector, Satyabrata Sahu, Commissioner-cum-secretary to Commerce and Transport Department, Government of Odisha, said, “The creation of world class infrastructure is key to attaining the country's projected growth rate of 9 per cent, which is believed to be necessary to make a progress in eliminating poverty and achieving a quantum jump in the quality of life of its citizens. However, the investment required for overcoming the existing deficit in infrastructure quality and quantity is so large that it cannot possibly be met by relying only on the public sector. It is, therefore, necessary to explore the scope for building infrastructure through PPP at both the Center and state level.”

He further added that in the wake of the significant interest shown both by domestic and foreign investors in this sector in the state, the commercialisation of ports in a planned and phased manner through optimal utilisation of resources together with the adoption of international best practices can surely secure value for public money and can provide efficient and cost effective services to the users.

Suggesting ways to remove some of the impediments to the growing port sector in the state, Micheal Pinto, former Secretary Shipping, said that besides setting up a PPP approval board in the ministry of finance that will be responsible for the PPP projects, there should also be a separate authority or clearing point for the benefit of logistics providers.

S.S. Nandurdikar, Chairman, Odisha State Council, D Bose, Chairman, CII Infrastructure and Logistics sub-committee and Santosh Mohapatra, CEO, Dhamra Port Company Limited were also present at the conference.