If all goes well, Gujarat will pioneer a move that will allow other states set up their maritime activites along the state's 1600-km long coastline. According to a senior official in CII's state wing, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is mulling to invite other states that do not have a coastline of their own to set up ports in Gujarat.
"While, the idea is still at a very nascent stage, the chief minister has indicated his desire to allow states like Madhya Pradesh to set up ports using Gujarat's coastline," claimed Yatindra Sharma,chairman,Confederation of Indian Industry(CII)-Gujarat State Council.
He did not give out details of the modalities of developing ports following such an arrangement, or even the revenue sharing basis, but said that the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) would be a partner in all such projects. Sharma also added that such ports could open up newer livelihood opportunities for the hinterland. Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) officials could not be contacted for a confirmation of the same.
The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) was set up in 1982 under the Gujarat Maritime Board Act, 1981, in order to develop and regulate the State's port sector. The GMB manages 40 ports, with the exception of Kandla, which is a major port under the Central government. Of these 40 ports, 11 are intermediate ports and 29 are minor ports.
Gujarat has a coastline of 1,600 km, nearly one-third of the country's total coastline length. It also has a big strategic advantage: it is the nearest maritime outlet from India to West Asia, Africa and Europe.
Gujarat Maritime Board reported a 35 per cent growth in cargo handling during the year. The non-major ports in Gujarat handled 206 mt cargo in 2009-10, almost 35 per cent higher that the 153 mt cargo handled in 2008-09. The GMB's total cargo handling capacity is 244 mt per annum, which is in the process of being increased to 500 million tonnes by the year 2015.
According to the Indian Ports Association(IPA), all major ports together handled a total of 560.96 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in 2009-10, an increase of 5.74 per cent over 530.53 mt handled in 2008-09.
