Rs 6,354cr Pvt Funds For Ports Seen

The Planning Commission has projected Rs 6,354 crore of private investment in major ports during the Ninth Plan. The private sector is expected to add 27.7 million tonnes of port capacity during the period.

Yet the capacity of major ports will fall short by 94 million tonnes at the end of 2002. The total capacity required is an estimated 424 million tonnes.

The Ninth Plan will see capacity addition of only 115 million tonnes to the capacity of 215 million tonnes at the beginning of the plan period in April 1997.

These projections are made in an action plan prepared by the commission to incorporate policy objectives of the Vajpayee government in the plan draft.

The action plan, finalised in consultation with the ministry of surface transport, indicates a sharp increase in external aid and capacity addition from 1999-2000 onwards.

The flow of external aid is expected to shoot up from Rs 144 crore in 1997-98 and Rs 180 crore in 1998-99 to Rs 400 crore in 1999-2000, Rs 545 crore in 2000-2001, and Rs 400 crore in 2001-02.

Capacity addition was a mere 0.45 million tonnes last year and is expected to be 11.5 million tonnes this year. It will shoot up to 43.85 million tonnes in 1999-2000 and 46.4 million tonnes in 2000-01 before sliding to 13 million tonnes in the terminal year of the plan.

Traffic in major ports will rise from 227 million tonnes in the beginning of the plan period to 424 million tonnes in 2002. This will need 209 million tonnes of additional capacity.

The action plan says the gap will be partly filled through improvement in port productivity that will add 50 million tonnes of capacity.

The 11 major port trusts will invest Rs 8,000 crore that includes Rs 6,000 crore earmarked for internal and extra-budgetary resource (IEBR) generation.

They will receive Rs 330 crore as budgetary support from the central government while Rs 1,670 will be available to them by way of external aid.

Paradip, New Mangalore and Chennai ports will contribute to the bulk of capacity addition during the Ninth Plan.

The Paradip port will see capacity addition of 26 million tonnes in 1999-2000. The year 2000-01 will see New Mangalore port adding 20 million tonnes and Chennai port adding 17 million tonnes of capacity.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust is working on plans to add capacity of 6.3 and 6.5 million tonnes in 1998-99 and 2001-02. The year 1999-2000 will see the Calcutta and Haldia ports adding 7.5 million tonnes and Mumbai port adding 7 million tonnes. The Murmagao port will increase capacity by 11 million tonnes in the last two years of the Ninth Plan period.

The major part of the expected traffic increases will be by way of petrol, oil and lubricants that will increase by 186.7 million tonnes in 2002 followed by imported coal that will rise by 93.7 million tonnes.

The action plan has identified certain areas in which urgent government attention is required. They include:

* Forging joint ventures between major ports and foreign ports to attract new technology and funding

* Amendment to the Major Ports Act to bring about corporatisation of major port trusts which will give them more flexibility and decision-making powers to handle commercial operations in a market-driven economy;

* Review of port labour laws

* Establishment of electronic data interchange and

* Joint ventures between major and minor ports.