Shipping ministry for capacity addition in ports

The Union ministry of shipping is in the process of eliminating bottlenecks in the award and implementation of projects for capacity addition in ports, and is in discussion with various other ministries, according to Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan.

The award and implementation of projects to create and add capacity to ports have been affected by factors such as security clearance of bidders, environment clearance, land acquisition issues and litigation, he said today.

“Recently, my ministry came out with new guidelines to streamline processing of security clearance proposals expeditiously without compromising on security aspects,” the minister said, inaugurating the National Conclave on Shipping organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

The ministry of shipping has been in constant dialogue with pertinent agencies such as the ministries of defence, home affairs, external affairs, environment and forests along with the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat and Planning Commission to remove bottlenecks in the way of award and implementation of projects, he added.

The capacity of Indian ports went up to more than 1,200 million tonnes by March 31, 2012, from about 1,100 million metric tonnes per annum at the end of previous financial year.

In 2012-13, a target has been set for award of projects for the creation of 244 million tonnes of capacity spread across 42 projects at an estimated cost of Rs 14,500 crore. The target also include, obtaining approval of establishing two new major ports – one in Andhra Pradesh and another in West Bengal.

The ministry expects high demand for energy would result in increased import of coal and oil, in future. “Similarly, the container volumes in India are expected to witness high growth in the years to come,” he added.

The minister later reviewed the operations in Chennai Port, and said that almost 35 per cent of the Rs 600 crore Chennai-Ennore Port Road Connectivity Project, to connect between the two major ports in Chennai, has been completed so far. Chennai Port and Ennore Port Ltd are spending Rs 250.5 crore and Rs 37 crore respectively for the project. The ports have already been released Rs 84.50 crore for the project and the rest of the money would be released soon and the project is expected to complete by June 2013.

Speaking to reporters, Vasan also said Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was the right candidate for the post of President of India, and the Opposition should support him for the top post.