The Union Shipping Ministry has asked the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) to build a smart city near Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to provide quality housing to people and prevent new slums from coming up in the area.
A large Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is being set up near JNPT, where over 60,000 people will be employed and looking for residential accommodation in the area.
Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transports, Highways, Water Resources and River Development, said, “I have given a proposal to CIDCO to build a housing facility for 60,000 people who will be working in the SEZ. They should build a township or a smart city in line with the one in Dronagiri of Navi Mumbai. They should set up a smart city where these people can stay. So no new slums will come up.”
The Minister added, “JNPT now provides direct or indirect employment to 10,000 people and the SEZ will create 60,000 additional jobs. All put together, 70,000 people will find employment. We will give priority to the people from Konkan and Raigad areas so that the locals get jobs and money.”
Mr. Gadkari said that six plots have been allotted in the SEZ, which will bring in an investment of ₹170 crore, employing about 2,500 people. Nine more plots are being auction. He said, “Around 115 hectares of land with large plots have been put up for auction.”
The Minister was on a visit to review the performance of JNPT. He said the port has done well as compared with private ports in terms of container handling in both exports and imports. He said JNPT has reported 16% growth in profit and in 2018-19 it will earn a profit of over ₹1,600 crore.
He said that JNPT is currently setting up four dry satellite ports in Wardha, Jalna, Nashik and Sangli, which will aid the State’s economic growth.
