Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the Sagarmala initiative of the government will help in generating new employment opportunities and push up growth of the country. Sagarmala is a project, which is aimed at port-led development in coastal states. <br/><br/>Speaking at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament in New Delhi, Mr Gadkari said, the prime objective of the initiative is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure for transporting goods.<br/><br/>He said the initiative needs to be strongly supported as it will place the ports as focal points for industrial growth and economic development. The Minister underlined that the transportation through waterways is much cheaper compared to road and rail transport. He added that India has vast untapped potential of using rivers for transportation.