In presence of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Mr Nitin Gadkari, and Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ayush, Mr Sarbananda Sonowal, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed this week between National Highways Logistics Management Ltd and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) for the development of a Multi Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jalna in Maharashtra. JNPA was represented on the occasion by Mr Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman.
Union MoS General V. K. Singh, Union MoS & Jalna MP Mr Raosaheb Patil Danve, Union MoS Dr Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Maharashtra State Ministers Mr Abdul Sattar, Mr Uday Samant & Mr Sandipan Bhumare, and MPs were also present on the occasion, said a Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) release.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Gadkari said that while acting as a catalyst for development of the Marathwada region, the Jalna MMLP will serve as a functional Dry Port of the region. Steel and allied industries depending on scrap, fruit and vegetable processing units, seed industries and the cotton sector would hugely benefit from this development. He said it would connect Samruddhi Marg and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridors. This infrastructure will promote the export of agro products and also transform Jalna into the automobile hub of the Marathwada region, he added.
Scripting a historic moment for the development of multimodal infrastructure, the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, has approved the development of 35 MMLPs under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the objective being to centralise freight consolidation and reduce logistics cost from 14% to less than 10% of GDP at par with international standards, the Minister emphasised. He said the initiative would provide MMLPs a platform for seamless modal shift of freight, adding that Team MoRTH has been constantly on the mission to explore sustainable modes of transport including through road, rail, water and air.
Mr Sarbanada Sonowal said that the MMLP will greatly benefit farmers as well as the ex-im trade. Under the ambitious PM Gati Shakti and National Logistics Policy, it will boost the logistics sector and bring economic growth, he added.
Source: Exim News Service: New Delhi, Sept. 22