Sagarmala to have coastal economic zones, 12 smart cities: Gadkari

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Asserting that the Sagarmala project approved by the cabinet on Wednesday will alone lift India's GDP growth by 2 percent, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said at least 12 smart cities and several coastal economic zones will be set up under it.

"Sagarmala project which is a priority project for Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been designed in a fashion that it will see at least 12 smart cities at India's major ports besides special economic zones (SEZs)," Gadkari told reporters here.

Describing the decision as "revolutionary and historical", he said "this project alone will boost India's GDP by 2 percent."

"An allocation of Rs.4,000 crore has been made for the SEZ (special economic zone) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which is one of 12 major ports in India under the Sagarmala project, while a coastal economic zone is in the offing at Kandla port which has 2 lakh acres of land in its possession," he added.

The ambitious Sagarmala project intends to enhance the capacity of major and non-major ports and promote port-led direct and indirect development.

Besides smart cities, 1,208 islands have been identified for development to attract tourists, Gadkari said.

He said a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the entire coastline will be prepared within six months which will identify potential geographical regions to be called Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs).

The Sagarmala project will also boost export-import as well as domestic trade.

"At present Indian ports handle more than 90 percent of India's total export-import trade volume but the current proportion of merchandise trade in GDP is only 42 percent, whereas in Germany and European Union, it is 75 percent and 70 percent respectively," the minister said.

Soon after assuming office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed the Sagarmala project to connect all coastal cities in the country through road, rail, ports and airports through a special development package. The project is designed to enhance the unique identities of coastal cities in consonance with their sea-side culture.

Speaking at the Growth Net 2015 event here on Thursday, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said the government will facilitate building energy efficient and self-dependent smart cities.

"We are focusing on enhancing infrastructure access to water, public transport and renewable energy. However, the processes that we are working on will take time to generate outcomes," he said.