He had cited that there are four coastal states on the Western Coast - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. After Mumbai in West Coast, the biggest airport that is going to come up is in Goa (in Mopa).
In fact Suresh Prabhu had gone on to say that the Union government wanted to make sure that Mopa, while it handles the passenger traffic, it also handles the cargo and had announced that the Union government is making a cargo policy which was unveiled in January last year, wherein the cargo will also drive the country’s economy.
As per the policy, international cargo comprises 60 per cent of the total air cargo handled in the country, logging a growth of 15.6 per cent in the previous fiscal, while domestic cargo grew by over 8 per cent, which reflects the skewed modal mix, in which roads account for over 60 per cent of cargo transportation as compared to the global average of around 30 per cent.
In tune with that, the Goa government has taken a proactive step to allot 14,380 square meters of land in Verna Industrial Estate to Konkan Maritime Cluster, which has 49 members. It is a move which will boost the ship-building industry in the State and will bring in the culture of clusters in other businesses too. Such moves will also help generate jobs within the State, which after the Covid-19 lockdown is imminently essential. Unfortunately, the clearances in the past took a lot of time. However, this allotment of land to maritime clusters, through Investment Promotion Board (IPB) and Goa State Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), sends a positive signal to the industry as a whole.
However, the maritime clusters which are not having a good business in India as compared to other countries like, Norway, Japan etc will now have to wait for the inland waterways to develop. According to the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), operational cost per tonne per kilometre through inland waterways is Rs 1.06 as compared to Rs 1.41 by rail and Rs 2.28 by road. The total cost of inland navigation, after accounting for accidents, congestion, noise, emissions, air pollution and other environmental impacts, is estimated to be one-seventh of that of road transport. Hence to develop this sector, development of inland waterways is crucial.
Herein comes the Sagarmala Project in which the cost estimate was put to Rs eight lakh crore for the completion of the entire project. Out of this Rs 8 lakh crore, almost Rs 2.5 lakh crore has been invested till now. The figure is going up and the major task of the government is on how to involve and bring-in private investment.
Besides manufacturing, there are other industries which require land. For Goa to become a logistics hub and attain an export-led growth, warehousing will become a major issue with the coming of Mopa airport. Proper holistic planning is required and this can only be done through a proper laid out development plan for the coming 20 years. These plans have to be placed now and one cannot wait till the Mopa airport becomes operational. The plan should indicate which lands could be utilised for different sectors manufacturing, technology, tourism, education, entertainment, food and agro, logistics, etc. This would help holistic long-term planning with clear limitation of land resources.
Also, to have an export-led growth, we need to have design-led strategy. The State government should welcome those units which have very good capability and capacity to deliver. Companies like Siemens, IFB, ACGL, Nestle etc can play a pivotal role in this and they have proven this model some years ago. With Goa having scarce land, surely using a cluster approach model, a value chain in the State can also be created.
Industrial production of India globally is very low. It is barely 1.5 per cent as compared to China’s 69 per cent. As of now, post the Covid-19 lockdown, India has gained advantage and respect over China. This can be an ideal opportunity to club the “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar” call of the Prime Minister Modi to take it forward and emerge stronger in the global market. India, and in particular Goa, can become a hub for export-led mass production. Government should not be in a hurry to allot the land to attract industries just for the sake of showing that we are getting industries.