Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday requested the Centre to consider its demand for a petrochemical cluster at Paradip and steel cluster at Kalinganagar in Jajpur under the ambitious Sagarmala, a programme aims to promote port-based development in the country.
Addressing the meeting, Naveen said development of ports along Odisha's 480km coastlines would not only help for Odisha but also for growth of neighboring land locked states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. "Development of ports would provide multiple exit and landing facilities for export and import activities. The ports will act as important national maritime trade gateways of India," he stated. On growth on ports in Odisha, Naveen said a number of investors have evinced interest for construction of new ports in the state under public private partnership mode.
