The Konkan Maritime Cluster, Verna, which had been in a slow mode since its launch in 2020, has at last started making a headway in the new year as the government has floated tenders for supply of machinery and other infrastructure works for the project.
The project aims at boosting shipping and shipbuilding industry in the state. It involves creating common facilities for shipbuilders and also companies in the marine sector that want to use the services of the cluster.
The project is India’s first maritime cluster, and is expected to be fully commissioned by the year-end, said a government source.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recently said the maritime cluster is expected to generate at least 3,000 jobs.
In all, six tenders have been floated by the directorate of industries, trade & commerce (DITC) for the purchase of machinery, painting booth, industrial waste disposal plant, equipment testing facility, and other related services for the cluster.
The tenders valued at around `13 crore are part of the project outlay of `16.21 crore which includes the cost of the land and the expenditure incurred on the work-shed, added the source.
He disclosed that the project was delayed by the Covid pandemic as also by the recession in the maritime sector.
Furthermore local MSMEs, which are members of the special purpose vehicle (SPV), found it difficult to contribute towards the share capital as their businesses were adversely affected by the economic slowdown.
The source added that construction of the work-shed by the MSME members of the cluster is a prerequisite for the government to chip in with funds.
“The project slowed down because of development of the land. The construction of a work-shed took some time. However, the project is set to take off as the shed construction is nearly complete,” explained the source.
The maritime cluster is being completed in phases, and the first phase is expected to be completed by April this year. The second phase, comprising purchase of computers, software packages, etc, will kick in after a few months.
The KMC is being set up under the cluster development scheme (CDS) of the MSME ministry. It is the first MSME cluster in the state.
To set up the cluster, local MSMEs applied for industrial plots in the Verna Industrial Estate.
The project was launched in June 2020 in the 14,380 sq. m of land allotted by the GIDC. Cluster facilities are for design and manufacture of ships and other marine vessels.
The maritime cluster is being implemented by the Khadi and Village Industries Board, Goa, while the DITC is the nodal agency for it.
“The SPV presently comprises around 36 members, which is expected to go up to 110 members once the project is completed,” said an official in KVIC-Goa.
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