Mumbai Port Trust sees not much gain from new land use norms

Notwithstanding the clarity offered by land use guidelines at major ports and constraint of space in the financial capital, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) today said it does not stand to gain much from the new norms as a significant portion is already leased out.
MbPT is one of the biggest land holders in Mumbai.
"We have 300 hectares reserved for commercial use, of which only 70-80 acres (up to 32 hectares) is free at present, the rest is already leased out," MbPT Chairman Rajeev Gupta told reporters here.
He said of the total 800 hectares in the possession of the port, 250 hectares each are reserved for roads and port infrastructure, while the remaining 300 hectares are open for commercial exploitation.

The Union Cabinet on January 2 approved policy guidelines for land management by major ports, a move that would help them monetise excess holdings.
Gupta said a Supreme Court judgement of 2004 on the land use at the Mumbai port would have a big bearing on the way the situation evolves. He, however, refused to elaborate on the contents of the judgement at the specially convened press meet to discuss the impact of the policy on the port.

He said the port earns Rs 120 crore from the leasing operations at present, but declined to give estimates about possible change in this amount as a result of the policy change.

Gupta said the port stands to earn up to Rs 35 crore per annum through the new projects like dedicated terminals for handling bulk cement and one each for edible oil and base oil.
He said the port is aiming to increase its capacity to up to 85 million metric tonnes per annum from the present 60 million metric tonnes in the next five years.