Ministry updates on port projects
More than 50 Projects with an investment of over Rs.10,000 crore, adding 90 MTPA capacity, are targeted for award during 2018-19 by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), said the Ministry of Shipping.
Comparatively, 27 Projects were awarded during 2017-18 for adding 21.93 MTPA capacity for an investment of Rs.4,146.73 crore.
Six new port locations at Vadhavan (Maharashtra), Enayam (Tamil Nadu), Tajpur (West Bengal), Paradip Outer Harbour (Odisha), Sirkazhi (Tamil Nadu), Belekeri (Karnataka) have been identified to increase overall cargo handling capacity
Eighty-nine port projects were completed this year under the Sagarmala Programme, while 443 projects worth Rs.4.32 lakh crore are under various stages of implementation and development.
The year was especially remarkable for developments in the inland water transport sector, said the Ministry in an update on its 2018 projects on 13 Dec 2018.
The following projects were inaugurated:
A multi modal terminal on River Ganga at Varanasi;
The first ever post-independence movement of container cargo from Kolkata to Varanasi on the river;
and the commencement of integrated movement of cargo from Kahalgaon in Bihar to Pandu in Assamover three waterways – Ganga, Brahmaputra and the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route.
These have established that the vision of inland water as a cheaper and more environment friendly mode of transport is fast becoming a reality.
Cruise tourism was another area with important developments like the inauguration of a modernized international cruise terminal at Chennai Port and the launch of Mumbai-Goa cruise service.
The skill development sector saw the setting up of Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) at Vizag and Mumbai, National Technology Centre for Ports, and Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC) at IIT Madras in Chennai.
The decision was also made to set up Multi-skill Development Centers (MSDC) at all major ports under Sagarmala.
The paragraphs below give the sector-wise details of the major work done by the Ministry during the year.
Ports in India handle 90% by volume and 70% by value of India’s external trade.
In order to meet the ever-increasing trade requirements of the country, the focus has been on the infrastructure development and capacity enhancement of the Ports.
Policy initiatives
The achievement of the Major Ports in terms of capacity augmentation, improved operational efficiency and higher operating surplus has been made possible due to certain pro-active policy initiatives taken by the Ministry.
The Model Concession Agreement has been amended with a view to obviate the problems being faced in execution of PPP Projects on account of certain provisions of the present MCA, in order to enhance confidence of investors and make the investments in the Port Sector attractive.
The tariff guidelines were revised to provide flexibility to port operators to align the tariff closer to market tariff subject to achievement of certain performance standards.
The ministry said 100% FDI is being allowed in PPP Projects in the Port Sector.
A new Major Ports Authorities Bill is awaiting consideration and passing by the Lok Sabha.
Introduced in on 16 Dec 2016, it is to replace existing Major Port Trusts Act 1963 to provide autonomy and modernization of institutional structure.
Revised guidelines have been issued to all the Major Ports for moving away from the practice of parking their surplus funds solely in the Public Sector Banks and investing their pension/provident/gratuity fund and surplus funds in accordance with guidelines of Ministry of Labour and Employment and Department of Public Enterprises, consistent with the provisions of Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
Logistics Data Bank Service under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd. (DMICDC), for enabling track & trace movement of EXIM container has been implemented at JNPT and is being implemented at other Major Ports.
Work order for procurement of 8 mobile container scanner has been issued. Site preparation at ports is in progress. Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) in respect of containerscanners meant to be procured for Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Kandla, Kamrajar and Kolkata Ports have been done.
Procurement of Drive through (Roads) scanner (Nos. 4) is under process. Selection of site for Drive through (Rail) scanner is also under process.
The Fourth Container Terminal (FCT) of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Phase-I) is India’s largest FDI Project in the port sector involving an investment of Rs.7,935 crore. With this the container handling facility at JNPT will increase from 5.15 million TEUs to 7.55 million TEUs.
Paradip Port Trust is the second Major Port after Deendayal Port (Kandla) to achieve the milestone of handling 100 MT of cargo during 2017-18.
Created an all-time record by successfully completing movement of 27 Vessels within 20 Hrs. i.e. from 0600 hr on 13th October 2018 to 0200 hr on 14th October 2018.
On 29th October 2018 introduced possibly first time in India, the Mediterranean Mooring Method to discharge edible oil from “MT Delfine” without using the berth.
Port projects worth Rs. 1062 crore were inaugurated and foundation stone for port connectivity projects worth Rs.679 crore were laid at Visakhapatnam on 13 July 2018.
These included upgradation of iron ore handling facility at Outer Harbour of Vizagport, Construction of Grade Separator from H-7 area to Port Connectivity Road, by-passing convent junction, under Sagarmala and Development of 12.7 km road connectivity to VPT from Shreelanagar Junction to Anakapalli-Sabbavaram/Pendurti- Anandapuram road (NH 16).
More than 605 projects having a total cost of Rs.8.8 lakh crore have been identified under Sagarmala. Of these, 89 projects worth Rs.0.14 lakh crore have been completed and 443 projects worth Rs.4.32 lakh crore are under various stages of implementation and development.
The Ministry and State Governments are striving to increase the overall port capacity to 3,500+ million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) to cater to the projected traffic of 2,500 MMTPA by 2025. For capacity expansion, 249 port modernization projects have been identified. Out of these, 107 port capacity expansion projects (cost: Rs.67,962 crore) were identified from the port master plans of 12 major ports and are expected to add 794 MMTPA to the major port capacity over the next 20 years.
Under Project Unnati, global benchmarks were adopted to improve the efficiency and productivity Key Performing Indicators (KPIs) for 12 major ports.
Around 116 initiatives were identified across 12 major ports to unlock more than 100 MTPA capacity just through efficiency improvement. Out of which, 91 initiatives have been implemented to unlock around 80 MTPA capacity. fiinews.com
