As part of its aggressive plans for port-led development, Union Shipping and Ports Minister Nitin Gadkari said he is looking to add eight major ports to the already existing 12, according to a report by Press Trust of India.
"We are planning to add eight new major ports, including the three already announced - at Wadhwan in Maharashtra, Sagar in Bengal and Colachel in Tamil Nadu," he said.
India currently has 12 major ports and three more are being developed, one each in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The total cost of the three upcoming ports is about Rs 25,000 crore.
"We will give more details about the five planned ports over the next three days," said Gadkari.
After Kandla in the 1950s, India has not built any other major port. Following rapid economic growth, country saw the development of private sector non-major ports.
Gadkari said the 12 major ports together have delivered Rs 4,200 crore profit in 2015-16, and their growth rates are faster than private sector rivals as well as global peers.
From a long-term perspective, the government is planning investments of more than Rs 12 trillion in the ports and waterways sector which will help generate 1 crore new jobs, Gadkari said.