To reduce dependence on roads for cargo movement and to reduce the costs, JNPT, country's largest container port, will be setting up satellite ports at Wardha, Aurangabad and Surat, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said here today.

Wardha and Aurangabad (both in Maharashtra) will have dry ports from where the cargo will be moved by railway, while at Surat there will be a water port, Gadkari said.

He was speaking at a function at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who laid foundation stone for an SEZ.

Cargo worth Rs 16,000 crore from or to the Marathwada region of Maharashtra passes through JNPT, while over Rs 8,500 crore-worth goods come through Nagpur annually, he said, adding that Surat also contributes significantly to the cargo passing through JNPT."

However, congested roads cause delay and some alternatives must be found, Gadkari said."The investment will be done by JNPT and we are studying the project. A detailed project report will be completed by the end of fiscal," JNPT Chairman N N Kumar told PTI later.

Kumar did not reveal the estimated investment. He added that JNPT may have tie-ups with private sector or the state- run Container Corporation for the project.