MSDC for skill development
Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two multipurpose berths – No 14 & No. 16 at Deendayal Port at Kandla through video conferencing from Delhi on 9 Mar 2019.
The two multipurpose berths cost Rs.280 crore with developed backup area of 21-ha
Designed for vessels of size 75,000 DWT, each berth has a draught of 13.0 m and optimal capacity of 4.5 MMTPA.
A wharf of 300 x 55 m been added at the two berths.
Both projects were completed in 22 months, two months ahead of scheduled completion.
He also inaugurated the Multi Skill Development Centres (MSDC) in Maritime Logistics being set up at JNPT.
Gadkari said that the MSDC would provide skill development in Maritime Logistics and placement to over 1,050 students per year in Port and Maritime sector.
This is a step towards achieving 100% skilled manpower at all Major Ports and will ensure that local people are able to truly reap the benefit of development in their areas.
The key training areas at the centre are warehouse management, consignment and tracking, inventory management, EXIM trade documentation and other related courses in the maritime logistics domain.
The physical infrastructure has been provided by JNPT and CIDCO for the centre which will be managed and operated by the AllCargo Logistics Ltd.
The Multi Skill Development Centre at JNPT will meet the upcoming skill manpower need in the surrounding areas.
Three major projects namely, the SEZ, a pre-dominantly logistics hub, the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which would provide opportunities in fields as diverse as cargo handling and hospitality, and JNPT’s new terminal – the PSA Bharat Mumbai Terminal, will see a demand for highly skilled logistics manpower.
The financial support, a soft loan, of up to Rs.70 lakh for lab setup, and funding requirement for training has been provided by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
The MSDC model is also being replicated in other ports in the country. It is likely to be taken up at Chennai Port, Cochin Port and Vishakhapatnam Port in the next phase.
He also laid the foundation stone for the Central Inland & Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT) at IIT Kharagpur.
Gadkari said the centre will be a hub for latest technology tools for maritime sector and reduce India’s dependence on foreign institutions.
It will also reduce the cost of research drastically and result in cost and time savings for work in the Port and Maritime sector.
CICMT is being fully funded under unique and innovative projects under Sagarmala to address the long felt need for applied research and development for the inland waterways sector. At the moment there is no testing and experimentation facility available in the country for inland and coastal vessels for which the shipbuilders have to approach various European countries.
The CICMT will provide technological support, research, testing and experimentation facility to the Shipping Ministry and its subordinate offices such as Inland Waterways of India, Cochin Shipyard Limited and major ports.
This Centre will focus on following domain areas:
Ship Design for Coastal/Inland waterways;
Shipbuilding Technology and Structural Design;
Transport Systems & Logistics;
Cryogenic Cargo Handling;
Green/Renewable Energy harvesting from Coastal and Inland waters;
Automation and AI for Maritime Operations.
The project cost Rs.69.20 crore (Capex – Rs.61.05 crore and Opex – Rs.8.15 crore).
The CICMT funding is for five years as it is expected to operate on self-generated revenue from end users of its services.
The CICMT setup signifies a major leap in indigenous innovation and cutting-edge technology support to the Port and Maritime sector directly contributing to the Sagarmala programme and support ‘Make in India’ initiative.
It is based on close collaboration among government, academic institutions and industry to make applied research relevant to day to day ground work in the port and maritime sector. fiinews.com
