The Minister of Shipping and Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that projects worth Rs. 1 Lakh Crore under Sagarmala programme are at various stages of implementation and development. The Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) has been incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013. The company has an initial Authorized Share Capital of Rs. 1,000 Crore and a subscribed share capital of Rs. 90 Crore.
The main objective of the company is to identify port-led development projects under the Sagarmala Programme and provide equity support for the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) set up by the Ports / State / Central Ministries and funding window and /or implement only those residual projects which cannot be funded by any other means / mode.
The Cabinet had approved the formation of the SDC under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping in July 2016. The company would help in structuring activities, bidding out projects for private sector participation, identifying suitable risk management measures for strategic projects across multiple States / Regions and obtaining requisite approvals and clearances.
The implementation of the identified projects would be taken up by the relevant Ports, State Governments/Maritime Boards, Central Ministries, through private or PPP mode. The Company would act as the nodal agency for coordination and monitoring of all the currently identified projects under Sagarmala as well as other projects emerging from the master plans or other sources.
It would also undertake the preparation of the detailed master plans for the Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) identified as part of the National Perspective Plan (NPP) SDC would be raising funds as debt/equity (as long term capital), as per the project requirements, by leveraging resources provided by the Government of India and from multi-lateral and bilateral funding agencies. It would also aim to increase the scope of private sector participation in project development.
The incorporation of SDC is part of the ambitious Sagarmala Programme by the Government of India which aims to harness India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes. The concept of the Sagarmala Programme was approved by the Cabinet in March 2015.