Gadkari to perform ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ of Wardha dry port on Monday

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Union Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will on Monday perform 'Bhoomi Pooja' of the Wardha dry port at Maharastra's Sindi, an official statement said on Sunday.

The dry port is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in a bid to cater effective logistics services to the industries in the state's Vidarbha region and improve cargo through out at the port.

Being constructed over an area of 350 acres in phased development with a total estimated investment of Rs 500 crore, the project's first phase would involve development of around 25 hectares at an estimated cost of Rs 180 crores - including private investment of Rs 79 crore.

"The proposed dry port is estimated to generate traffic of almost 7,000-9,000 TEUs in next 5-7 years," said the statement.

The traffic is expected to ramp up gradually to around 30,000 TEUs in medium term (by 2030) considering the geographical location advantage, upcoming road and railway connectivity, increased focus on warehousing and other ancillary industries in the region, it added.

Expected to attract a direct employment of at least 1,000 persons, the project would have the necessary facilities as one-stop shop for the EXIM based industries such as customs clearance facilities, container freight station, warehousing space, cold storage, liquid storage and truck terminals.