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Shipping Ministry
Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday launched multiple projects worth nearly Rs 2,000 crore in order to expand capacity at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPA), according to an official statement. The statement further said JNPA is amongst top global ports and India's largest port. It has crossed 10+ million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity in January 2025 and is poised to achieve 10 million TEUs throughput by 2027. In 2024, the port handled highest ever container volume of 7.05 million TEUs, performing at more than 90 per cent capacity, it added. According to the statement, it had an annual growth of 11 per cent Y-o-Y last year as compared to the previous calendar year. "The upgradation of Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal (NSFT) in 2025 is also likely to add capacity to the port," the statement said. Major MoUs (memorandums of understanding) were signed in the presence of Sonowal for the development of the Vadhavan Port Project. "A MoU .
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal informed that cargo handling capacity has reached 133 million metric tonnes in the last ten years.Speaking at the 2nd Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC) meeting in Kaziranga a day earlier, Sonowal said,"In the last 10 years, our cargo handling capacity has reached 133 million metric tonnes... More than Rs 60,000 crores of investment have been made in our National Waterways... In the inaugural session of the Inland Waterways Development Council, we inaugurated projects worth Rs 1400 crores for 21 states of our country...," he said."We aim to increase our cargo capacity to 200 million metric tonnes by 2030 and invest more than Rs 50,000 crore in this sector in the next 5 years...," the minister added.The IWDC, the apex body for policy deliberation on the promotion & propagation of inland waterways in India, witnessed major announcements to boost infrastructure along national waterways on Friday.The meeting also witnessed ministerial ...
The Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC), apex meet for policy deliberation for the promotion and propagation of inland waterways in India, witnessed major announcements to boost infrastructure along national waterways, a release said on Friday.According to the release, the second meeting of IWDC, organised by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency for the development of waterways under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), announced investments of more than RS 50,000 crore in the next five years. A series of new initiatives across 21 Inland Waterway States were announced worth more than Rs 1400 crore, on the occasion. The meeting was presided over by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.The IWDC began with a traditional lamp lighting ceremony by the Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma along with the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal at Kohora in ...
The government on Thursday announced steps, including reducing certain charges at ports and purchase of five additional second-hand container vessels by SCI, to resolve shipping sector-related problems of exporters and importers. These measures were announced after a meeting of all the concerned stakeholders of the international trade segment, including senior officials of ministries like commerce and industry, shipping, ports, finance, civil aviation and railways; apex exporters body FIEO (federation of Indian export organisations), customs officials, freight forwarders, transport operators and shipping companies. Exporting community and experts have flagged shipping sector issues which are hurting the country's exports, which has contracted by 9.3 per cent in August. The issues figured in the discussions include container shortage, surge in ocean freight rate and shipping cost, shipping delays at the Indian ports, and turnaround time at the ports. Briefing media after the ...
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has approved wage structure revision for workers at major ports, an official statement said on Wednesday. According to the statement, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Bipartite Wage Negotiation Committee (BWNC) and the Indian Port Association (IPA), averting an indefinite strike that was set to disrupt operations across 12 major ports in India. The MoU facilitates the revision of the wage structure and addresses other service conditions, including pensionary benefits, it added. It was also agreed that the fitment benefit of 8.5 per cent on the aggregate amount of basic pay as of December 31, 2021, plus 30 per cent VDA (variable dearness allowance) as of January 1, 2022, will be granted. "The periodicity of the settlement is set for five years, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026. "The new pay scales, effective from January 1, 2022, will be formulated according to existing practices," the statement ...
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has received 29 new proposals worth Rs 3,300 crore from Andhra Pradesh covering various projects, including port development and coastal berths, Parliament was informed on Friday. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said 13 projects in Andhra Pradesh, valued around Rs 2,500 crore, are currently receiving financial assistance under the Sagarmala scheme. These projects include Ro-Pax and passenger jetties, fishing harbours, port modernisation, and skill development. The ministry has already sanctioned Rs 450 crore for development of these projects, Sonowal said. Additionally, he said the Visakhapatnam Port Authority and Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) have undertaken 36 projects in Andhra Pradesh, with a combined investment of Rs 4,600 crore. Among these, 22 projects worth Rs 2,530 crore have been completed, while 14 projects worth Rs 2,070 crore are in various stages o
The shipping ministry is working to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade to increase efficiency and reduce logistics costs at major ports, a senior government said on Saturday. In the landlord model, private players take over the operational aspects, while the port authority acts as a regulator and landlord. Speaking at CII Annual Business Summit 2024, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary TK Ramachandran said Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has become the first major port of the country to become 100 per cent landlord port, having all berths being operated on PPP model. The PPP (public-private partnership) model is considered an effective tool for attracting investment in the port sector. "We have 12 major ports, and we have a huge capacity...we want to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade," Ramachandran said. He further said the four pillars that the Shipping ministry is working on to improve the cost and ease of doing busin
The shipping ministry on Friday approved Rs 645 crore for 10 new waterways projects on the Brahmaputra river in Assam, according to an official statement. The statement said projects will be implemented under 100 per cent funding from the central government under the Sagarmala programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways. "New projects aimed at building new capacity along the Brahmaputra to boost River Tourism, public commute in Assam," the statement quoted Shipping Minister Sarbananda as saying. The statement further that from the construction of slipways at strategic locations such as Maya Ghat in Dhubri district and Majuli district to the establishment of passenger terminals at Ghagor in North Lakhimpur district and Bahari in Barpeta district, each proposal is meticulously designed to enhance connectivity and facilitate seamless transportation across the region. Additional passenger terminals are set to be established in Goalpara, Guijan, Kurua, Dhubri, Disangmukh, .
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) on Thursday said it has signed initial agreements for investments worth Rs 30,000 crore during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024. In a statement, the ministry said during the event APM Terminals and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 20,000 crore, expressing their intent to invest in the Vadhavan Port Project. The proposed Vadhavan port in Maharashtra is a high-priority initiative for the government, the port is designed to handle an annual cargo capacity of 23 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) or 254 million tons, boasting a natural draft of 20 meters to accommodate larger container vessels of up to 20,000 TEUs. Once completed, the project will rank among the world's top 10 largest ports and serve as a significant green fuel hub, the statement said. According to a statement, a memorandum of understanding between Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), Kandla and ...
The commerce ministry has called a high-level inter-ministerial meet next week to discuss ways to insulate India's trade from the ongoing problems in the Red Sea, a senior official said on Thursday. Senior officials from five ministries -- external affairs, defence, shipping and finance and commerce -- will participate in the deliberations. The commerce ministry has also set up an internal strategic group, comprising additional secretaries of the ministry, to discuss global issues impacting the country's trade on a daily basis and prepare a strategy to deal with them. "The idea of the inter-ministerial meeting is to see how we can strategise our trade so that it gets least affected in such a situation," the official said. The situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to recent attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants. Due to these attacks, the shippers are taking ...
The Inland Waterways Authority of India, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW), is set to host the inaugural 'Inland Waterways Development Council' meeting in Kolkata on Monday.According to an official statement issued from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, the day-long meeting on board the vessel MV Ganga Queen, by Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, will bring together key figures from across the waterways states and central government including Shripad Naik and Shantanu Thakur, Ministers of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways."The event will also see the participation of Ministers from various State Governments, accompanied by their principal secretaries, Secretaries, alongside numerous senior officers of the Central Government and domain experts in the field" the ministry said in its statement.Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will also unveil groundbreaking initiatives, including "Harit