Gandhinagar, July 24 (IANS) Gujarat is on the verge of finalising a comprehensive Logistics Master Plan for the entire state, including dedicated City Logistics Plans for eight major municipal corporations, said State Industries Minister Balvantsinh Rajput.

During a review meeting of the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) held in Gandhinagar, the minister emphasised the state’s commitment to align with national infrastructure goals and mentioned that projects exceeding Rs 500 crore, being implemented by Central agencies, are regularly monitored under the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) mechanism.

GIDB acts as the nodal agency in Gujarat to facilitate and expedite resolution of such issues.

Once completed, the master plan will help identify and improve industrial transport needs across the state, optimize goods movement, and support the development of a shelf of infrastructure projects. This initiative is seen as a critical step toward reducing logistics costs and boosting industrial competitiveness. The minister chaired a detailed review of GIDB’s logistics and infrastructure planning initiatives.

Minister Rajput urged officials to accelerate the completion of the City Logistics Master Plans for Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Junagadh. He also emphasised the creation of a Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) database to integrate logistics information across agencies and stakeholders.

Further, he directed officers to ensure that Gujarat maintains a competitive position in the national LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) rankings and continues proactive efforts to strengthen its logistics ecosystem.

Highlighting the broader vision, the minister stated that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Viksit Bharat@2047” initiative, Gujarat is moving in sync to realise the state’s developmental goals.

He credited Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s leadership for driving effective infrastructure planning aimed at lowering logistics costs and fast-tracking key infrastructure projects.

GIDB’s CEO, P. Swaroop, briefed the minister on various initiatives, including the PM Gati Shakti Gujarat plan, efforts to cut logistics expenditure, monitoring of critical infrastructure projects, and the development status of Special Investment Regions (SIRs).

–IANS

janvi/svn