Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has in-principle approved construction of a 485-metre long new jetty at the Navlakhi port by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) at a cost of Rs.192.33-crore to increase its capacity 20 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).

This is in addition to Rs.40-crores assistance it has received from Central Government’s under Sagarmala Project for future development.

The Navlakhi port, in operation since 1939, handled 11.85 MMTPA cargoes from its 434 metres long jetties during 2018-19 and earned an income of Rs.77.05-crore. Its income is likely to increase by Rs.50-crore.

Besides salt and food grains, it handles coal for the power plants of central and northern India, besides Gujarat, and also the requirement of tiles industry of Morbi. The Indian Railways has recently laid broad gauge line up to Navlakhi, handling six rakes daily at present, with plan to handle nine rakes. There is a plan to make the approach road four-lane to increase its cargo handling capacity by 5 MMTPA.

The permission for environmental clearance for GMB is under progress, after which the project is scheduled to be completed in two years.
It is lighterage port – a favourite of small and mid-size exporters and importers – in competition with major port like Kandla and Mundra in the Gulf of Kutch. It is also getting a 100-metre long jetty for inter-state cargo movement under the Sagarmala Project.
The Chief Minister is keen for maximum utilization of seaports in Gujarat along its 1,600-km coastline doing trade with 217 countries.

– Information