Nagpur, Oct 27 (IANS): A pilot project is being taken up for sweetwater and saltwater prawn farming on a big scale in the Vidarbha region for future prospects of exports to Gulf nations and other countries, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said here on Friday.

There are a number of private water bodies in the region and the government will make them viable for farming in Nagpur and Amravati divisions of Vidarbha region since prawns are already grown in adjoining Bhandara and Chandrapur districts, which are found to be tasty and worth exporting, Gadkari said on the sidelines of the announcement of the 14th edition of central India's biggest Agro exhibition being organised here from November 24-27.

Gadkari, who is the chief promoter and brain behind the agro exhibition, said the process for pilot project is being initiated and district collectors have been asked to identify and make the water bodies viable for prawn farming.

There are an estimated 6,500 private water bodies in the region, the minister said in reply to a question.

An American company has shown interest in importing prawns from the Vidarbha region, Gadkari said, adding that once the pilot project is successful, full-fledged farming will be carried out.

The four-day agro exhibition will attract dairy farmers, sugarcane growers, cotton growers and horticulture farmers to witness the new technologies and innovations in agro engineering, Gadkari said.