France to part fund coastal protection project in Karnataka

France has come forward to fund one-third cost of pilot project of protecting coast from sea erosion in Karnataka using "stabiplage" technology, the state Fisheries and Ports Minister Vasanth V Salian said on Wednesday.

The pilot project, costing Rs 8.3 crore, is proposed to be taken up for about 1.5 km length in Ullal-Kotepur area on the West Coast, Salian said in a statement.

The Minister, accompanied by officials from the state PWD and Central Water Resources department, is going to France tomorrow for a site visit to inspect the beach in France, where stabiplage technology had been successfully employed, as well study the technology implemented in that country.

A senior technical official from France's Espace Pur had visited the area earlier and had submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister S M Krishna for protection along the coast using this technology.