Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone of port based SEZ

Prime minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation of the port-based multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on Saturday (Aug 16) and also commission India's largest indigenous naval ship, INS Kolkata.

The self-sustainable integrated development project in 277 hectares will see Rs 4,000cr public-private investment. It's scheduled to be completed in three years and will be executed through engineering-procurement and construction mode.

The SEZ will develop free trade warehousing zone, engineering goods sector, electronics and hardware sectors, non-conventional energy sector, multi services (IT and healthcare) sectors and apparel and textiles sectors.

On Saturday, foundation stone will also be laid for port connectivity highway project at JNPT. The project at an estimated cost of Rs 1926.570cr, is expected to be completed by Dec 2017.

Due to the rapid development in Navi Mumbai-Uran area on account of the development of JNPT, JNPT-SEZ, and the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport, it was felt necessary to augment the carrying capacity of the existing road network to 6-8 lanes by providing improved facilities on the road network connecting the port and national highways.

The 6,800-tonne destroyer warship – INS Kolkata—was built at Mazgon Docks Limited. The keel of the vessel was laid in Sept 2003 and it was launched in 2006. The construction of the warship was completed three years after schedule.