Correspondent, Navi Mumbai
Mega projects, crores of investments and the vision for the port will bring in unprecedented job opportunities, says CMD Bhumiraj Group
If you want to know where Navi Mumbai is headed in the next few years, understand what is happening with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). That will give you an idea of the unprecedented progress and development on the anvil in the region leading to employment opportunities like never before says Bhupendra Shah, the chairman and managing director of Bhumiraj Group.
Shah who is also the Chairman Trustee Board of Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM) states that Navi Mumbai is set for the next level of development wherein JNPT’s development is linked with it.
According to Shah, “JNPT’s significance can be gauged from the fact that successive prime ministers have taken keen interest in it. Then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1980 gave instructions to set up JNPT. As PM Rajiv Gandhi visited Nhava Sheva several times as construction started in 1986. He was there for the inauguration of the port in May 1989 too with Sharad Pawar, the then state chief minister.”
Bhupendra Shah inform, “Prime minister Narendra Modi in 2015 laid the foundation stone for the 4th container terminal, in 2017 shipping minister Nitin Gadkari laid foundation for Rs 1,117 CR projects at the port and in 2018 prime minister Modi inaugurated the 4th container terminal.”
He adds, “11 decades old Sir Mohamed Yusuf Seamen Welfare Foundation’s Training Ship Rahaman is a prime example of its importance. The Foundation had received acquisition notice for its entire campus by the government of Maharashtra in 1973. However, Indira Gandhi ordered in 1980 that no further acquisition will be done in Nhava and that the institution will be allowed to conduct its activities.”
On the JNPT vision, the CMD of Bhumiraj Group informed, “JNPT, for its SEZ, has prepared plans to attract Rs 4,000 crore in investments. The draft proposal envisages 72,600 direct job opportunities. The SEZ will generate employment for 1.50 lakh people with a multiplier effect. There will be housing schemes around the SEZ to cater to the demand.”
He added, “The covid pandemic too hasn’t affected. In February this year JNPT chairman Sanjay Sethi signed more than 30 MOUs worth Rs 27,000 crore with potential investors. These were for port projects, technology transfer and development of plots in JNPT SEZ.”
The companies that have shown interest are DP World, JM Baxi & Co, Ganesh Benzo, BPCL, NITIE, SSG Pharma Pvt. Ltd, Sooraj Agro, JWR logistic, Cineline India Ltd. etc. There will be investing in manufacturing, IT services, warehousing/cold storage, FTWZ, pharma, confectionery manufacturing, engineering services, food processing among others.
The Bhumiraj Group CMD informs, “A whopping 18 jetties are coming up in the region in a few years. Big names like Nikhil Gandhi, Reliance and Adani are involved. Imagine the employment they will generate.”
On the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, he stated, “The 1483 km broad gauge freight corridor under construction by Indian Railways will connect Dadri near Delhi with JNPT in Navi Mumbai. It will ensure that the containers move from the port to the hinterland and vice versa in a smooth fashion.”
Informed Shah, “In a first, JNPT performed a trial run for the operation of freight trains loaded with “dwarf containers. This novel initiative will ensure cargo movement for export and import through double-stacked dwarf containers with cost advantages to the parties and increased rail traffic at the Port.”
There is more, Shah informs, “Virar-Alibuag MultiModal Corridor, which is 126 km long connects to Chirner JNPT. It will speed up development and create job opportunities in Panvel, Taloja and Uran. The Corridor will also be useful for the development of Navi Mumbai International Airport, JNPT Port, MTHL and Dedicated Freight Corridor. It will carry all the traffic from JNPT towards Navi Mumbai and Thane outside the city and reduce traffic congestion within the city.”
According to Shah, “Regional Park Zone that is planned over 1,850 hectares, will be used for housing, open spaces and entertainment facilities.”
Signs off Bhupendra Shah, “Navi Mumbai is set for huge benefits from JNPT that is more than just the biggest port in the country. The boost that the economy will receive from JNPT is unprecedented. It will bring along industries, services and infrastructure, upgrade quality of life and more.”
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