The meeting, also attended by Union Minister of State for Shipping Shantanu Thakur, covered projects under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 — including the Balagarh Multimodal Logistics Hub, expansion of Kolkata and Haldia docks, inland waterway development, shipbuilding facilities, cruise tourism, and port-led industrial clusters.
“West Bengal is central to India’s maritime future,” Sonowal said. “We aim to transform Kolkata and Haldia into the premier maritime gateway of eastern India while generating more than 62,500 employment opportunities. The double engine sarkar model will deliver these projects to unlock unprecedented opportunities for trade, industry, and tourism.”
In a wide-ranging press conference at the State secretariat Nabanna, Adhikari announced that Kolkata would become the 18th city in the country connected to the Water Metro network. “The project has already been implemented at 17 locations, including Kerala. Kolkata will be the 18th city to join the Water Metro chain,” he said.
On the long-stalled Tajpur deep-sea port, the Chief Minister disclosed that the State was offering 1,700 acres at Dadanpatrabar — roughly 10 km from Tajpur — as an alternative site after the Adani Group withdrew due to land unavailability. Adhikari said he had separately discussed the proposal with Karan Adani on Wednesday.
West Bengal will also join the Sagarmala 2.0 programme, which the State had missed under the previous government. “We are preparing project proposals worth Rs 22,700 crore for implementation over the next five years, focused on coastal fishing infrastructure and island development,” Adhikari said. Under the programme, 44 new jetties will be constructed along with 25 more on national waterways.
Adhikari further announced that the State was considering a dedicated Shipping Department, separate from the existing Transport Department, and was examining the development of minor ports on the lines of Gujarat and Odisha.
He also said six Ganga ghats were being redeveloped, with work at Bagbazar and Ahiritola ghats to be completed before Durga Puja, and that a heritage museum was being planned at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.
Sonowal pointed to the port’s growing throughput – from 46.29 million metric tonnes in 2014 to 70.87 million metric tonnes in 2025-26 – as evidence of the State’s untapped maritime potential, adding that inland waterways cargo movement had grown nearly five-fold over the same period.
Both leaders also discussed plans to develop the Gangasagar Mela into an internationally recognised event, with beach restoration at Sagar Island already sanctioned under Sagarmala 2.0.
