Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation for construction of Kulai Fishing Harbour in Mangaluru, Karnataka, on 5 March 2019. The harbour will be constructed as part of the Sagarmala Project.

The Centre has taken up development of 28 fishing harbours under the Sagarmala project with an investment of Rs 4,142 crore. Out of those, four harbours will come up in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu, six in Maharashtra, three in Gujarat, two in Odisha, five in Andhra Pradesh, two in Kerala and one harbour will come up in Goa.

The Kulai Fishing Harbour project will be completed by May 2022. It will accommodate around 350 fishing boats.

The Centre has decided to take up the fishing project at the cost of Rs 196 crore. Of the total project cost, 45 percent will be contributed by the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), and five percent by the state government. The remaining amount will be contributed by the ministries concerned under the Sagarmala project.

The Kulai project will be managed by NMPT and will come up on an area of 11 acre. The breakwater construction will be taken up under Phase-I of the project. Tender has already been awarded for construction of the breakwater.