New plan in six months, says Mandaviya
The Shipping Ministry will be doing an extensive study on reviving 160 minor ports across the country and develop a synergy between major and minor ports for further developments.
This was announced by Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya, after the 17 Meeting of Maritime States Development Council (MSDC) in New Delhi on 15 Oct 2019.
The extensive study will be done for revival of each port, identifying the specific cargo linked to it and the downstream industry.
A new development plan for ports and National Port Grid will be ready within six months, he disclosed.
The Centre Government will share the study findings with the states so that the non-functional minor ports can be developed and made functional.
The Minister called for greater cooperation between the centre and state governments to develop the maritime sector.
Mandaviya also said that the coastal shipping and inland waterways sector are poised to play a vital role in the development of the country.
The cost effective and pollution free water transport can reduce logistics costs in the country, making Indian goods more competitive in the global markets, he said.
The Ministry is planning expansion of port capacity through the implementation of well-conceived infrastructure development projects, increasing the efficiency of port operations through the implementation of a package of recommendations to cut time and cost, digitization of processes to reduce and finally eliminate human interface and to strongly address environment related concerns.
The MSDC discussed issues like developing common and comprehensive guidelines for inland waterways barges so that barges of different states can move seamlessly in coastal waters.
Port security was also discussed for both major and minor ports. Mandaviya said that international levels of security would be ensured at every port in the country.
He emphasised on the advent of cruise tourism in India and the importance of SEZs being developed at JNPT and Smart Industrial Port Cities at Kandla and Paradip.
He also said that establishment of research based institutes like CEMS, CICMT at IIT, Kharagpur and NTCPWC, IIT, Madras will help the maritime industry to get indigenous research and skilled manpower.
MSDC is an apex advisory body for the development of the Maritime sector and aims to ensure integrated development of Major and non-Major Ports.
The MSDC, constituted in May 1997 in consultation with State Governments, is for the future development of existing and new minor ports by the respective Maritime States either directly or through captive users and private participation.
Further, MSDC also monitors the development of minor ports, captive ports and private ports in the Maritime States to ensure their integrated development with major ports. It would also assess the requirements of other infrastructure requirements like roads/rail/IWT and make suitable recommendations to the concerned Ministers. fiinews.com
