The union cabinet Wednesday approved development of infrastructure at five ports that will require investments of Rs.17,631 crore.

 

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal at a meeting here. 

 

 Under the proposal five projects — four container terminals – one each in the major ports of Kandla, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Ennore and Kolkata – and one multi-purpose cargo berth project in Mumbai Port — are to be developed. 

 

 The five projects will entail an investment of around Rs.17,631 crore in port infrastructure, according to an official statement released after the cabinet meeting here. 

 

 “The proposed container projects will double the container handling capacity of major ports and will add capacity to the tune of 11.6 million twenty feet equivalent units