 "Ministry of Shipping to invest Rs 14k cr on various port projects")
In 2014-15, 26 investment projects with an investment of Rs 10,543 crore and capacity of 155 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) were approved. During 2015-16, a total of 30 projects are to be awarded, which will involve capacity enhancement by 162 mtpa.
The ministry has been emphasising on creation of additional capacities through development and construction of new berths/ terminals, revamp of existing berths and terminals and other modernisation projects. The Ministry’s focus is on improving the existing port infrastructure, modernisation of the existing facilities and increasing port capacity.
Currently, the level of mechanisation is not at par as compared with other ports across the world. For e.g. Kolkata Port is only 30% mechanised whereas Kamarajar Port at Ennore has mechanisation level of upto 90%. Operations in other ports are also mechanised to varying degrees.
As part of the modernisation process, the Ministry has hired a consultant for benchmarking the efficiency and productivity of major ports in India vis-a-vis international standards and suggested a road map for improvement. A total of 101 recommendations were made by the consultant regarding improving the operations and efficiency of the major ports. These recommendations are under various stages of implementation.
The Ministry has also taken note of B K Chaturvedi committee recommendations, which stress on the need to increase draft of major ports to at least 14 metres, and in ports where it is technically feasible and economically efficient, the draft should be increased to 17 metres so that these ports can be developed into hub ports. The Ministry has taken initiatives to increase draft at major ports. All major ports except two, namely VOC Port and Kolkata Port, can handle 14 metre draft vessels.
Dredging work is being carried out to increase the draft by 18 metres in order to cater to capsize vessels in two major ports namely Mormugao and Kamarajar. The investment in these dredging projects is estimated to be to the tune of Rs 793 crore.