The annual aggregate capacity of ports in India will see a sharp rise by 2012, the Minister of Shipping, G K Vasan, has said. He was speaking at the CII’s Logistics Outsourcing Summit today.
According to the minister, the annual capacity of the major ports will increase 74 per cent to reach 1 billion tonnes in the next two years. In 2008-09, their capacity was 575 million tonnes.
The capacity of 200 non-major ports would reach 580 million tonnes in the end of 11th Five Year Plan in 2012. “The annual capacity of the major and non-major ports combined will be 1.5 billion by 2012,” said Vasan.
To meet this target, the government has already started working towards increasing the efficiency of the ports. “Modern cargo handling techniques must be introduced not just for containerized cargo, but also for dry bulk,” said Vasan.
He added that the National Maritime Development Programme’s (NMDP) targets would be achieved by 2011-12. In the ports sector, 50 out of 276 projects identified have been completed. In shipping and inland water sector, less than half of the projects have been completed. “All the NMDP projects will be implemented by 2011-12,” said Vasan.
The shipping ministry is also considering a proposal for road and rail connectivity to non major ports at a cost of Rs 500 crore.