GMB scouts new locations to set up greenfield ports, shipyards

The board has identified two consultants, I-Maritime and AECOM, and discussions are on with them

Gujarat, which already accounts for 74 per cent of the traffic by all non-major ports in the country and the longest coastline amongst maritime states in India (1,600 km), is now scouting for newer locations for setting up green-field ports and shipyards.

The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), an autonomous State Board, which administers and regulates the 41 state-owned non-major ports of Gujarat, has already identified stretches along the coastline where new ports and shipyards can come up, and is now in talks with consultants who would work on analysing the feasibility and also prepare detailed project reports for the same.

According to a GMB spokesperson, the stretches identified for developing greenfield ports include Bhavnagar to Ghoga, Jamnagar and Bharuch areas, while those identified for developing shipyards include Jakhau-Mandvi, Dwarka-Porbandar, Porbandar-Mangrol, Mangrol-Veraval and Mahuva.

Senior officials at the GMB also informed that two consultants have been identified, and discussions are on with them. However, the work is yet to be awarded. "We have identified two consultants, I-Maritime and AECOM, and discussions are on with them; nothing has been awarded yet. One of the consultants to be appointed would work on the Gulf of Khambat side and South Gujarat, while the other would work in the Saurashtra region and Kutch," said the senior official.

Gujarat has the highest number of commercial cargo ports and the hinterland for the ports of Gujarat accounts for 40 per cent of the total Indian trade. The state's non-major ports handled 309.9 million tonnes (mt) of traffic in 2013-14, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.82 per cent in the last decade. The capacity across the ports increased from 146 mt per annum (mtpa) in 2003-04 to 387 mtpa in 2013-14, at a 11.4 per cent CAGR with utilisation rate increasing from 61 per cent in 2003-04 to 80 per cent in 2013-14.

As a senior GMB official pointed out, "There is sufficient port capacity at the moment. We are comfortable for the next two to three years." However, GMB, has already started looking out for new opportunities to expand capacity.

Already, GMB has planned green-field ports at Chhara (to be developed by Shapoorji Pallonji), Nagrol (Cargo Motors), Dahej (Sterling Biotech), and VansiBorsi(yet to be awarded).

As for ship-building yards, 10 shipyards are already operational and nine shipyards with proposed investment of around Rs 2,100 crore have been approved by the state government and are at various stages of implementation. At present Gujarat contributes 89 per cent of the total shipbuilding orders in India (in DWT terms).