How Govt Efforts Will Steer Paradip Into A Smart Port City
If you are someone who is not familiar with the geography of India and trying to find out about Paradip on the Internet, you may be led to believe it to be a port company. One would be amazed to find out about the potential of this small municipality in Odisha's Jagansinghpur district. As the Union shipping ministry gears up to capitalise on the city's biggest strength — its port into a globally competitive harbour — PropGuide looks at the development blueprint to make Paradip an anchor for other port cities.
The area
The proposed smart city will be spread across over 6,727 acres. Of this, 1,652 acres will be dedicated to a residential development, 1,950 acres for industrial development while the remaining 3,115.17 acres will be earmarked as custom-bound area.
The building mode
The smart city will be built on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis, with multi-modal logistics parks, industrial parks, residential and commercial areas, a water management system, a waste-recycling centre and a creek development programme for tourism.
The energy booster
The smart city will also have a solar energy park of 20mw spread over 90 acres. The capacity of 10mw is expected to be achieved by March 2017, and the rest by December the same year. The estimated cost of the proposed project is Rs 160 crore. The proposed smart city will also have dedicated drinking water supply lines and an efficient drainage system.
The road to growth
The road network in the upcoming smart city will have dedicated lines for township and port. The road beautification work worth Rs 6 crore is already underway.
The redevelopment
Slums areas, which are currently scattered over 155 acres will be redeveloped through the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana.
The expectations
Paradip, which already has a major port, is mineral-rich. The capacity of the existing port is 118.50 MMT per annum and is expected to reach 325 MMT per annum by 2020. The government is of the view that these factors would make Paradip a hub for micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) . The expansion plans of the outer harbour will also increase the port traffic.