Ports
India has around 12 major ports and 185 minor ports with a coastline of 7517 Km. The twelve major ports are Kolkata (including Dock Complex at Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore, and Tuticorin on the east coast and Cochin, new Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru at Nhava, Mumbai and Kandla at the west cost. India has the largest merchant shipping fleet among the developing countries and is ranked 17th in the world. The sector in India handles 95 per cent (in terms of volume) and 70 per cent (in terms of value) of India's external merchandise trade.
Major ports
All the major ports primarily offer a combination of dedicated bulk terminals, some specialized container terminals and several cargo berths. The major ports are regulated under the major Ports Trust Act, 1963. Container cargo is growing at an impressive CAGR.
Performance of Major Ports
The twelve major ports handled a record traffic of 383.75 million tonnes during 2005-06 for the period upto February 2006.
Port wise details are given below:
Cargo Traffic at Major Ports (Million Tonnes) |
|||
Port |
Cargo Traffic |
Cargo Traffic |
Cargo Handling Target for 2006-07 |
Visakhapatnam |
50.10 |
55.80 |
61.59 |
Kolkata |
46.20 |
53.02 |
51.80 |
Chennai |
43.80 |
47.25 |
52.20 |
Kandla |
41.55 |
45.91 |
50.80 |
Mumbai |
35.19 |
44.19 |
49.00 |
JNPT |
32. 81 |
37.75 |
43.20 |
New Mangalore |
33.89 |
34.45 |
37.20 |
Paradip |
30.10 |
33.11 |
40.80 |
Mormugao |
30.66 |
31.69 |
35.30 |
Tuticorn |
15.81 |
17.14 |
18.20 |
Cochin |
14.10 |
13. 94 |
15.67 |
Ennore |
9.48 |
9.16 |
9.80 |
Total |
383.69 |
423. 41 |
465.56 |
Non- Major Ports
About 48 non-major ports are active and operational. These are in Gujarat (21), Maharashtra (8), Tamil Nadu (9), Karnataka (3), Andhra Pradesh (2), Orissa (1), and Goa (1). The rest are selectively operational and cater to local cargo requirements, passenger ferrying, and fishing operations.
A few of the non- major ports have been developed as relatively large ports (Mundra and Pipavav) through private sector participation and attract a fair amount of Cargo. These are comparatively newer ports with modern facilities and smaller, better-trained workforces, and thus score high on efficiency parameters.
Infrastructure Status for dredging Projects:
The Government has brought ports under the ambit of key infrastructure status for dredging projects in Union Budget 2007-08.
The key infrastructure status for ports will facilitate inclusion of a navigational channel in sea within its ambit for purpose of ten year-tax benefit under Section 80 Income-Tax (IA) in view of long gestation period for dredging projects.
Section 80-IA provides for a ten-year tax benefit to an enterprise engaged in development, operation and maintenance of infrastructure facilities.
Deepening the navigation channel in the sea is a capital intensive project.
The finance minister has also proposed complete exemption of dredgers from import duty.
The infrastructure status accorded to navigation channels in sea, under Sec 80 I-A, will enable dredging companies to gain tax exemptions
Port Privatisation
The Privatisation Experience: Major ports
So far the government has approved 17 private or captive projects worth Rs. 61 billion. Of these, 13 with a total capacity addition of around 38.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and an investment of around Rs. 26.32 billion are operational. Private interest has mainly been restricted to container terminals. P&O was the first company to sign a BOT contract for a container terminal with a major port, when it received the contract to develop a container terminal at JNPT in 1997. There has been interest in setting up captive facilities in major ports since the late 1980s. BPCL and IOC have captive oil jetties in several major ports.
The Privatisation Experience: Minor Ports
The state of Gujarat has been most successful in attracting private sector interest. Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited (Maersk, PSA), Gujarat Adani Port Limited (the Adani Group) and Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Limited have been developed as joint venture with private players. Reliance operates captive jetties at Jamnagar port, Gujarat, to cater to Reliance's refinery in Jamanagar. It has also invested in captive jetties at Sikka port. However, the last two years have seen an increase in private activity in minor ports all over the country.
Full text of the policy (.pdf)
Related Web Links
Sources:Ministry of External Affairs