Increase draft size, capacities of all major ports: Experts

Mumbai: The speakers on the first day of the two-day India Shipping Summit yesterday set the agenda for making Indian ports world class by 2013-14, calls for extending the draft size of all major ports to facilitate accommodation of new generation vessels and expanding of the port capacities


Mr. A.K. Mohapatra, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping said that Indian ports, including non-major ports, which handle 568 million tonnes (mt) of traffic, may have to handle about 1.5 billion tonnes by 2013. In which, the share of minor ports may have to be to be 400-mt, he said. The Government had chalked out a roadmap to achieve this target, he added.


Ministry of Shipping was considering developing two world-class shipyards in the country. For this, Ennore and Mumbai ports have been chosen to act as nodal agency to oversee the implementation of the shipyard projects, he said.


Ms Rani Jadhav, Chairperson of Mumbai Port and the Indian Ports Association (IPA), said that on a conservative estimate, the Indian port sector was projected to handle 1,225 million tonnes by 2013-14, including 391 million tonnes by non-major ports.


The projected growth rate till 2013-14 is the highest for container traffic (23.6 per cent), followed by coal (15 per cent) and PoL products (8.02 per cent).


'We need additional capacity of 628 million tonnes by that year; the current capacity is 456 million tonnes.'


Ms Jadhav said that the ports together will take up 276 projects involving an investment of Rs 55,803 crore over five years.


Of this investment, the share of private investment was likely to be Rs 34,505 crore (62 per cent), internal resources of ports Rs 13,771 crore and Budgetary support Rs 3,609 crore.


The IPA chief said that the biggest problem of the ports related to draft constraints.


'None of the major ports today can accommodate 15 mt draft container vessels and only two, Vizag and Ennore ports, can handle PoL vessels of 16 mt draft.'


The Government has decided that all new berths should have a minimum draft of 15 mt.


About 25 channel and berth draft increase projects are being taken up at a cost of Rs 6,305 crore.


The other issues that would be discussed at the two-day session include ship finance, shipbuilding, and energy transportation and ship management.