Panel suggests holistic development of non-major ports

Non-major ports in the country will have to adopt a planned and holistic approach towards development as their role would grow to a stage where 50 per cent of the exim cargo would possibly be handled by them in 8-10 years down the line, according to the high-powered committee constituted recently by the shipping ministry to look into the solutions to the ever-growing port traffic, more so in terms of improvement in container handling facilities across all the major and non-major ports in India.

"Most of the non-major ports, including those in Andhra and Gujarat, have been focusing only on commodity-specific cargos like coal and iron ore, which will not help them grow to meet the future requirements," said PVK Mohan, chairman of the committee, and also a member of the National Shipping Board.

While the committee would first focus on critical ports to suggest short and long-term solutions for hassle-free handling of cargo and connectivity, it wants all the non-major ports - about 183 in all - to have container handling facilities on priority basis as they are crucial for the manufacturing sector, according to Mohan.

Growing congestion at major ports is already showing its impact on the country's exports as Indian products are getting less competitive in the international market due to congestion surcharges and delays in shipping that are adding to the woes of exporters who are already paying high ocean freight, he said.

While any new greenfield development of a port takes a minimum of 2-3 years to come into operation, solutions that help decongest the port traffic by facilitating quick evacuation of cargo have to be found to ease the current situation.

The holistic development of non-major ports would also help in moving bulk cargo like steel and cement along the coast line, which would, in turn, provide more space for FMCG and other manufacturing goods on rail and road network in the country.

He expressed concern over the delay in approval of Andhra's Maritime Board Act by the Centre, stating that Gujarat topped in maritime development because all the developmental activity pertaining to ports in the state was channelised through its state-level maritime board.

Mohan is chairman and managing director of Hyderabad-based Seaways Shipping Limited.