Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, inaugurated Oil Jetty no. 7 at Old Kandla in order to ramp up capacity at Kandla Port which is one of India’s major ports. This initiative will boost up the capacity at Kandla Port of Deendayal Port Authority with an estimated investment of  ₹280 crores.

Speaking on the occasion, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, our country is moving ahead every day towards achieving the ultimate goal of becoming an Atmanirbhar Bharat. The role of maritime trade is of paramount importance in this regard. We are building capacity of our ports to propel opportunities of Blue Economy to power the growth of India. As Modi ji has laid emphasis on the growth of an environment friendly, economical, smooth mode of transport, the role of maritime transport is crucial in the transformation of India to become a major player in international trade & commerce. I am extremely blessed to unveil these major initiatives to ramp up capacity at the Kandla Port. This will go a long way to realise one of the many milestones to become Atmanirbhar at the end of this Amrit Kaal.”

He added, “The potential of blue economy has many important benefits, best of which is sustainable use of marine resources for an environment friendly economic growth. With a variety of sectors from tourism to energy, blue biotech to fisheries or aquaculture, the potential of economic growth in blue economy is particularly interesting. We believe that objectives set by the visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, blue economy is one of the major future drivers of growth of India.”