Indian ports to get improved rail and road connectivity

Sources:

Economic Times (9 May 2010): http://bit.ly/aOuKyl

The government has been pondering rail & road links to ports since quite a while now, but the infrastructure boom in India appears to have given it the final push. In all, 276 projects costing about Rs 55,804 crore have been identified, of which 48 projects have been completed, 70 are under implementation and 89 projects are under planning, according to data from the Shipping Ministry. The projects are part of the government's National Maritime Development Programme, a Rs 61,000-crore project to boost infrastructure at ports. Most of these projects are expected to be executed under the PPP model, which has turned out to be resounding policy success for the government.

While the Economic Times article mentions only the major ports, even some of the larger 'minor' ports are getting upgraded connectivity links. Projects that I know of:

• Chennai Elevated Tollway between Chennai port and Maduravoyal
• Upgradation of current road connectivity between Krishnapatnam Port and NH-5, in addition to the new 24km railroad connection from the port to the main trunk line

For further research and reading, I attach a (slightly dated) report by the Indian Planning Commission:

Rail Report