Maharashtra government has signed several memorandum of undertakings on Monday worth almost Rs 56,000 crore as it looks to give a strong push to the maritime sector in the state.
"We want to make Maharashtra a destination for ship building," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on the sidelines of the India Maritime Week in Mumbai.
The state has signed 15 MoUs in all. A large part of the MoU will be towards expanding some of its ports along the Konkan coast.
"Our ports department has signed close to 15 MoUs in the maritime sector. This includes the development and expansion of Jaigad and Dighi ports, there are MoUs to build new shipyards and ship repair facilities and there are also MoUs to build ships that will run on clean energy," Fadnavis told reporters.
The state has also inked MoUs to start water transport facilities. MoUs have also been inked towards skilling workforce required in the maritime sector as well as developing centres of excellence.
"Maharashtra has taken a big step in the maritime sector with these MoUs. We have signed MoUs close to Rs 56,000 crore," the chief minister said expressing confidence of these MoUs being fulfilled.
Maharashtra is currently developing the Vadhavan port to the north of Mumbai, which should make it among the top 10 container ports in the world.