He said, on one hand, when the country is celebrating 75 years of independence, Bhavnagar has completed 300 years of its establishment.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth over Rs 5200 crores in Bhavnagar. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the world’s first CNG terminal and of the brownfield port at Bhavnagar. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Regional Science Centre which is spread over 20 acres and has been built at a cost of around Rs 100 crores. During the programme, the Prime Minister also inaugurated various other projects including package seven of Sauni Yojna link 2, 25 MW Palitana Solar PV Project, APPL Container project; and laid the foundation stone of projects including package nine of Sauni Yohna link 2, Chorvadla Zone water supply project among others.
The Prime Minister thanked the people for coming to the event in such a large number despite the warm weather. He said, on one hand, when the country is celebrating 75 years of independence, Bhavnagar has completed 300 years of its establishment. In this journey of 300 years, Bhavnagar has made steady growth and has made its mark as the cultural capital of Saurashtra.
This development journey of Bhavnagar will get a new momentum through the projects being launched and planned today. He said that he is of the firm belief that Rajkot-Jamnagar-Bhavnagar area will soon have the same aura as Surat-Vadodara-Ahmedabad. He said that Bhavnagar has immense potential in industry, agriculture and business. Today’s event is a living example of the efforts of the double-engine government in this direction.
He remarked that Bhavnagar is a district situated on the coast and Gujarat has the longest coastline in the country. But due to the lack of attention to coastal development in the post-independence decades, this vast coastline had become a kind of big challenge for the people.
Highlighting the work done by the double-engine government, the Prime Minister remarked that in the last two decades, the government has made sincere efforts to make Gujarat’s coastline the gateway to India’s prosperity. “We have developed many ports in Gujarat, modernized many ports”, the Prime Minister added, “New opportunities for employment were created.” The Prime Minister pointed out that Gujarat was the first state in the country to get an LNG terminal and today, Gujarat has three LNG terminals.
Throwing light on the importance of the coastal ecosystem, the Prime Minister remarked that the government has played a key role in developing coastal industries and energy networks for these industries. Fishing harbours were constructed and fish processing was promoted for the benefit of the fishermen’s community.
Mangrove forests were also developed in the area. Shri Modi also commented that the then government in the Center had said that many lessons can be learnt from Gujarat about how to develop a coastal area. The Prime Minister also said that the government has taken key steps to take aquaculture forward. Remarking on the coastline of Gujarat, the Prime Minister said that it has become a medium of employment for lakhs of people today besides playing a big role in the import and export of the country.
“Today, Gujarat’s coastline is emerging as synonymous with renewable energy and the hydrogen ecosystem”, he continued, “We have tried to make Saurashtra a centre of energy. Today, whatever be the energy needs of the country, this region is becoming an important hub of that.”
The Prime Minister underlined that the port of Bhavnagar will play a big role in building a self-reliant India and create hundreds of new employment opportunities in the state. “There will be an expansion of business related to storage, transportation and logistics”, Shri Modi added. Referring to the legacy of the Alang Ship breaking yard, the Prime Minister said that the biggest beneficiary of the Vehicle Scrappage Policy will be Bhavnagar. He also underlined the related opportunities of container building from the scrapped iron.
