Phase I of Wardha dry port to be ready in a year

Sewagram: The phase I of Wardha dry port will be ready in a year. It will be a satellite port of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) spread over 62 acres containing international container depot. The bhoomipujan of the facility was performed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday afternoon.

The port is spread over an area of 228 acres and is located in Sindi on the border of Nagpur district. The phase II comprises 42 acres and will also be an international container depot. The phase III, spread over 124 acres, will have industrial area and logistics park. It will also have an area reserved for future expansion.

Explaining the working of the dry port, Gadkari said that if any exporter wants to send something abroad, he will be able to complete all formalities at Sindi and then the goods will be loaded into railway wagons and sent to JNPT. From there, they will go to their destination by ship. The exporter will not be required to go to JNPT.

The minister further said that the facility would provide jobs to 10,000 youths. "Symbiosis will train local youths so that they get jobs in the dry port. We want that 90% jobs should go to residents of Wardha district," he added.

Gadkari also claimed that the imported goods will become cheaper in Vidarbha due to the satellite port. "Palm oil will cost between Rs1 and Rs1.5 per litre. It will also lead to industrial development of Wardha district," he said.

The union minister also announced that the dry port would be connected to Nagpur-Wardha Road by a four-lane road.

Fadnavis said that after implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Nagpur would become the logistics hub of the country. "The dry port and cargo hub at Mihan will definitely get lot of business," he added.

JNPT chairman Anil Diggikar said that the dry port would have container yard, cold storages, truck terminal, liquid storages, godowns, etc. "It will have road and rail connectivity. You can consider that another JNPT has been set up here," he added.

"The facility entails an investment of Rs500 crore and it will directly generate 1,000 jobs. We will provide single window clearance to exporters and importers. In the third phase we will encourage industrialists to set up units in the dry port. This will generate more employment," Diggikar further said.