NEW DELHI, October 12 — The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, on Monday approved a consolidated infrastructure investment envelope of ₹4,250 crore dedicated to capacity expansion, deep-draft berth construction, and end-to-end mechanization across Paradip Port in Odisha and Deendayal Port (Kandla) in Gujarat.
According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the capital allocation prioritizes Phase-II development of the Western Dock at Paradip Port, introducing fully automated multi-cargo handling terminals capable of accommodating Capesize bulk carriers drawing drafts up to 18.5 metres. The modernizations position Paradip to cross 300 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) cargo throughput capacity, consolidating its ranking as India's premier volume-handling coastal hub. Concurrently, Deendayal Port receives funding for twin oil jetties and multimodal hinterland rail evacuation links.
Cabinet ministers emphasized that executing these projects via Public-Private Partnership (PPP) hybrid concession formats will directly compress coastal supply chain turnaround times and logistics costs as a percentage of GDP, aligning with National Logistics Policy (NLP 2022) benchmarks.
The Sagarmala Mega Programme (launched in 2015 for port-led industrialization), the Major Port Authorities Act 2021 (granting administrative autonomy to Board of Port Authorities), coastal geography of Paradip (located at the confluence of the Mahanadi and Bay of Bengal) versus Deendayal (Kandla, a natural deep-water tidal port in the Gulf of Kutch), and the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) are core subjects across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Infrastructure & Economy) and State PSC syllabi.