Indian ports' overall container handling trails every single Chinese port's

Of the world's top 20 ports, 14 are in China; no Indian port figures on this list

Indian ports are far behind Chinese ones when it comes to handling of containers. India’s total containerised cargo capacity of 8.75 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) at its 12 major ports is less than a quarter of containerised goods handled at China’s single port of Shanghai.
 

"Shanghai container port handled four times more containers pegged at 36.5 million TEUs in 2015 compared to the combined throughput of 8.4 million TEUs in 2016-17 at all the major ports in India", according to study titled 'Indian ports sector: Challenges of scale and efficient operations' done by industry chamber Assocham.

China has four ports that handle more than 20 million TEUs, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo & Zhoushan and Hong Kong Chin, said Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat.

India's ports, however, are rapidly expanding traffic, handling more than a billion tonne of cargo in 2016-17 and the capacity is expected to increase to 2.5 billion tonnes by 2025. The freight mainly comprises POL (petrol, oil, and lubricant), coal, iron ore and other commodities.

All our 12 ports combined together handle 647 million tonnes of cargo, which is less than the Ningbo and Zhoushan port in China that handled about 900 million tonnes of cargo in 2015. The reason being that capacities of Indian ports are much below 100 million tonnes a year, said Assocham Advisor Arvind Kumar.

Even on the parameter of overall cargo, both with or without containerisation, India has a fragmented capacity at different ports. In China, there are six cargo ports that can handle over 500 million tonnes cargo per annum in addition to the eight other ports, which handle cargo between 100 million tonnes and 500 million tonnes.

Commenting on the infrastructure in India, Rawat said: "The port scaling in China is not only ahead of us but it over-awes even the major countries. Of the world’s top 20 ports, 14 are in China. No Indian port figures in the top-20 list.

In contrast, India has just two ports, which handle cargo beyond 100 million tonnes — these are Kandla and Mundra. Large productivity gains can be achieved by improving existing ports at a much lower marginal cost, the study noted.

The Assocham report said that use of containers is imperative to promote multi-modal transportation. These containers can travel across all modes. "Container is a transport unit as well as a logistics unit. Containers save handling costs when freight must be transferred from one mode to another (for example: from ships to trucks or truck to rail). This calls for cost-effective models with ready infrastructure", the report added.

The Dhamra port coming up in Odisha has an advantage as it has deep draft upto 20 meters. When it will be fully operational, it can accommodate large container vessels. Odisha as a state is better equipped to handle rising volumes of cargo, Kumar added.

The Orissa High Court decision to dispose of the case pertaining to setting up 13 non-major ports along its 480 kilometre-long coastline will further boost the prospect of port infrastructure, bring in investment, create thousands of jobs and also add to the revenues of the state exchequer, Rawat added.