MANGULURU: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of mechanization and industrialisation projects worth around Rs 3800 crores in Mangaluru on 2nd Sept 2022. 

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that today (2nd Sept 2022) is a red letter day in the history of India. 

Be it territorial security or economic security, India is witnessing huge opportunities. Recalling the commissioning of INS Vikrant earlier today, the Prime Minister exuded the pride that every Indian is experiencing.

Highlighting the efforts that the country has made toward port-led development, the Prime Minister emphasised that it is an important mantra for development. As a result of such efforts, the capacity of India's ports has almost doubled in just 8 years.

Prime Minister inaugurated the project worth over 

Rs 280 crore for mechanisation of Berth No. 14 for handling containers and other cargo, undertaken by the 

New Mangalore Port Authority. The mechanized terminal will increase efficiency and reduce the turnaround time, 

pre-berthing delay and dwell time in the Port by around 35%, thus giving a boost to the business environment. Phase I of the project has been successfully completed, thereby adding over 4.2 MTPA to the handling capacity, which would further increase to over 6 MTPA by 2025.

Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of five projects worth around Rs 1000 crore, undertaken by the Port. The integrated LPG and Bulk Liquid POL Facility, equipped with a state-of-the-art cryogenic LPG storage tank terminal, will be capable of unloading full load VLGC (very large gas carriers) of 45,000 tonnes in a highly efficient manner. 

Reflecting on the GDP figures that have come out a 

few days ago, the Prime Minister said that the policies made by India during the Corona period and the decisions taken have played a key role in the development of India. 

“Last year, despite so many global disruptions, India’s exports were worth a total of $ 670 billion i.e. 50 lakh crore rupees. Overcoming every challenge, India made a new record of merchandise export of $ 418 billion i.e. 31 lakh crore rupees”, the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister said that every sector related to the growth engine of the country is running at full capacity today. The service sector is also moving towards rapid growth. 

He said that the impact of PLI schemes can be seen very clearly in the manufacturing sector. “The entire electronic manufacturing sector including mobile phones has grown manifold”, he said. The Prime Minister also drew everyone’s attention to the emerging toy sector of India where the import of toys has decreased in 3 years and the export has increased almost as much. “All these are being directly benefited by the coastal areas of the country, which provide their resources for exporting Indian goods, which have major ports like Mangaluru”, the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister further added that with the efforts of the government, the country has witnessed a significant increase in coastal traffic over the years. “Due to increased facilities and resources at different ports of the country, 

the coastal movement has become easier now”, he added. 

“It is the effort of the government that port connectivity should be better, it should be accelerated. Therefore, under 

PM Gatishakti National Master Plan, more than two hundred and fifty projects of railways and roads have been 

identified which will help in seamless port connectivity”, 

the Prime Minister remarked.