BENGALURU : The Karnataka Government is planning to release the State Maritime Policy soon, according to Mr. Gaurav Gupta, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to the Energy and Infrastructure Development Department, Karnataka.

Addressing delegates of the CII-Karnataka Ports Conference 2023 in the virtual mode in Mangaluru on Friday, he said: “We have formulated the Karnataka Maritime Policy with the vision to develop the port sector, and that should be released shortly.”

CII-Karnataka organised the conference on the theme ‘Ports – Backbone of Indian economy and Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

He said Karnataka is gearing for the upgradation of port infrastructure, integrating with the last-mile and hinterland connectivity development.

Stating that projects worth more than ₹1,000 crore are planned under the Sagarmala project in Karnataka, he said 26 maritime improvement projects had been sanctioned.

The Karnataka Government intends to develop Keni-Belekeri in Uttara Kannada district as an important port in the state.

Speaking on the occasion, AV Ramana, Chairman of the New Mangalore Port Authority (NMPA), said the port would handle iron ore from this financial year.

NMPA has taken a conscious decision to transport iron ore through railway rakes alone, to reduce environmental issues and the damage caused to roads, he said.

The port would make use of the services of a trans-shipper to load iron ore from the port in barges and load it onto ships anchored at the outer anchorage. This would help mitigate pollution at the port, he added.