Govt to raise share of water transport to 15%

He said three new major ports under the Sagarmala project will be tendered by March

Contracts to build the three new major ports under the Sagarmala project would be tendered by March and preliminary works would commence in April, Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for shipping, told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham conference on coastal shipping and inland waterways here, on Wednesday.

With investment of Rs 18-20 crore, the government plans to add three more major ports to the existing 12. These are proposed at Wadhwan near Dahanu in Maharashtra, Colachel near Kanyakumari, and Sagar port in West Bengal.  

The Wadhwan port will be built as a joint venture port between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Maharashtra Maritime Board, and is intended to de-congest the over-burdened JNPT port at Nhava Sheva.
 

“More ports will increase competition and lead to better price discovery,” said Gadkari. “This is beneficial for the consumer and will also lead to economic growth in the long run.”

Gadkari said his ministry would invest Rs 70,000-80,000 crore in port-rail connectivity and full financial cooperation would be extended for modernisation, mechanisation, and computerisation of the ports.

The government aims to increase the share of water transport (passenger and cargo) to 15 per cent by 2019 from 3.5 per cent now. This is 30-40 per cent in countries such as China, South Korea, the UK, Germany and France.

For all the 12 major ports across India’s 7,500-km coastline, the government plans to have a draught of 18-18.5 metres, which would allow 200,000-tonne ships to come to the port.

Gadkari said several initiatives were being taken by his ministry to promote shipping. “My ministry is aiming at additional two per cent to gross domestic product and create five million employment opportunities.”