Role of ports pivotal

INTERVIEW/ MUMBAI PORT PERSPECTIVE

'It's necessary to bring down the cost of logistics'

"The logistics industry is growing at almost at 20 to 25 per cent per year. Goods need to be transported by land, sea and air "" all this is logistics. With the economy booming, EXIM trade is growing and so is manufacturing. Until recently, within the country there was only criss-cross movement of a few bulk commodities, but now there is movement of consumer goods as well. To make Indian products competitive in the global market it is necessary to bring down the total cost of logistics.

Traditionally, the logistics industry has been dominated by SMEs. But now operators need to track the movement of cargo by using various technologies such as RFID, GPS, etc. for efficient service delivery. I foresee fragmentation increasingly giving way to strategic partnerships "" not necessarily leading to concentration of ownership but to pooling of resources. This will result in efficiencies, and service providers will be able to offer better solutions to customers."

"I foresee fragmentation increasingly giving way to strategic partnerships"
Atul Kulkarni
Senior Manager (Consulting), Deloitte

Since 95 per cent by volume and 70 per cent by value of the country's international trade is carried on through maritime transport, the pivotal role of ports assumes greater significance in the coming years. Mumbai port, being a multi-cargo port, has to promote trade and development of this region. This is reflected by the growing performance of the port from a traffic level of 26.43 million tonnes in 2001-02 to an all-time high of 52.36 million tonnes in 2006-07, registering annual growth of 16 per cent, highest among the major ports in India.

The hinterland of the port, which at one time had very large areas covering upto north India, has been steadily decreasing with many new ports and terminals coming up on the west coast. The shrinkage in hinterland has, however, witnessed a steady growth of traffic by Mumbai port. This underscores the locational importance of this port, as growing economic activities of the region command larger volumes of traffic for the port. With the economy poised for more than 9% GDP growth in the 11th Plan, demands on Mumbai Port will increase. This mandates us to prepare ourselves to face the future.

Mumbai port has formulated a development plan for expanding its capacity to achieve the projected traffic of 71 million tonnes by the end of 11th Plan i.e., in 2011-12. The total investment planned is Rs 2,808.48 crore, with private investment envisaged at Rs 1,084.44 crore, budgetary support of Rs 337.46 crore and internal resources of Rs 1,386.58 crore.

"Mumbai port, being a multi-cargo port, has to promote trade and development of this region"
Ashok Kumar Bal
Deputy Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust