Odisha Govt To Set Up 12 Minor Ports: Minister

Bhubaneswar:  The Odisha government has decided to set up 12 minor ports in six coastal districts of the state.

In a written reply in the State Assembly on Saturday, Commerce and Transport minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu said a notification to this effect has been issued by his department.

He said of the 12 proposed minor ports, four will be set up in Balasore, two each in Ganjam, Bhadrak and Puri and one each in Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts.

He further said at present, apart from one major port in Paradip, two minor ports are in operation at Dhamra in Bhadrak district and Gopalpur in Ganjam district.

The minister, however, said that out of the 12 proposed minor ports, there is uncertainty in setting up of one of the ports at Chudamani in Bhadrak district as the Aditya Birla Group which had signed a MoU with the state government to set up the port, has backed out of its decision.