Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for India's first multi-modal logistic park

New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the Rs 694 crore multi-modal logistic park in Assam and said that it would serve as the growth engine for the state's economic development.

The work on the first phase of the Rs 694 crore project at Jogighopa on 317-acre land will begin next month by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and will be completed by 2023, the Road Transport, Highways and MSME Minister said.

"This multi-modal park will serve as a growth engine for Assam's economic development. It would provide direct and indirect employment to about 20 lakh people," Gadkari said laying the virtual foundation stone of the project under Bharatmala Pariyojna.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal presided over the virtual function, which was attended by Union Ministers Jitendra Singh, V K Singh and Rameshwar Teli among others including MPs and officials from the state and central government. Gadkari said his Ministry has envisaged developing 35 Multi-modal Logistic Parks (MMLPs) in the country and work on preparing DPR (detailed project report) and feasibility report is underway.

He said, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) will be formed for all these MMLPs, and professionally qualified CEOs will be appointed for each separately.

Gadkari said works worth Rs 280 crore for the MMLP project along Brahmaputra have already been awarded, including Rs 171 crore for road construction, Rs 87 crore for erecting the structure, and Rs 23 crore for rail lines. The Minister said that the distance of 154 km between Jogighopa and Guwahati will be covered by making a 4-lane road on this stretch, a 3-km rail line will connect Jogighopa station to the MMLP, another 3-km rail link will connect it to the inland water terminal, and the road to newly developed Rupsi airport will be upgraded to 4-lanes for easier connectivity.