Initiatives under Maritime India Vision identified to develop global ports in the country: Sonowal
1 min read . Updated: 07 Feb 2023, 07:06 PM IST
Premium- The minister said that it includes developing world-class mega ports, transshipment hubs and infrastructure modernization of ports
NEW DELHI : Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 has identified initiatives to develop global standard ports in India, said Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that it includes developing world-class mega ports, transshipment hubs and infrastructure modernization of ports.
Sonowal added that the investments are estimated to the tune of Rs. 1,00,000–1,25,000 crore for capacity augmentation and development of world-class infrastructure at Indian ports.
He said that the upcoming ports at Vizhinjam (Kerala) and Vadhavan (Maharashtra) have natural drafts in excess of 18m. “It will enable ultra large container and cargo vessels to call on the ports and boost the efforts to make India the world’s factory by improving the container and cargo throughput."
The minister added that India, at present, does not have landside mega-port and terminal infrastructure to deal with Ultra-large container ships.
Sonowal added that the ports need higher draft, several large cranes, better yard management capability, increased automation, larger storage facilities, more inland connectivity and enhanced labour productivity. “Ultra-large container ships seek speedy unloading of the large volumes they carry."
He said that the container throughput of Indian ports stood at 17 million TEUs for the period 2020 whereas that for China stood at 245 million TEUs for the same period. “The combined container throughput across top 20 major global ports stood at 357 million TEUs during the period 2020."
