Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday virtually laid the foundation stones for a modern wholesale fish market in Bhubaneswar and an integrated aqua park at Hirakud in Odisha’s Sambalpur district.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the wholesale fish market will be developed over six acres at Pandara on the city’s outskirts at a cost of ₹59.13 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. The project is a joint venture of the Centre and the state government.
The market will feature modern facilities such as an ice factory, an effluent treatment plant, a solar power system, rainwater harvesting, a packaging centre, restrooms for fishermen, among other amenities. It will benefit 143 traders and create indirect employment for nearly 2,000 people. The project, supported by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), is expected to be completed by November 2027.
“The existing wholesale market at Unit-4 will be shifted to the new site. Today (Saturday), we invited fish traders to a meeting. Only a few retail shops will remain at Unit-4, others will be relocated,” said Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das.
On the integrated aqua park, the CMO said it would come up on 95.47 acres of land at Basantpur in Hirakud with an estimated cost of ₹100 crore, of which ₹40 crore will be provided by the state government and the rest jointly funded by the Centre and the state.
Describing it as the first aquaculture hub in eastern India, the CMO said the project would play a key role in ushering in a “blue revolution” in the region. It is slated for completion by January 2027 and will make Sambalpur a Centre of Excellence in fishery culture.
The fishery projects were announced during the launch of the Prime Minister Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, with an outlay of ₹24,000 crore, to be implemented over six years across 100 districts, including Odisha’s Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Sundargarh and Nuapada.