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The privatisation of ports hasbeen widely regarded asone of those rare successstories of the Indiangovernment.

As with almost everything else, themove to open up this vital sector toprivate operators too was belated. Pol-icy guidelines on the privatisation ofports were first announced by theDeve Gowda regime in October 1996.But on the upside, it has yielded hugedividends. It revolutionised cargohandling in the country and facili-tated development of capacities aheadof a demand explosion.

Nikhil Gandhi, group chairman ofSea King Infrastructure Ltd (SKIL), thatpromoted Indias maiden private portin Pipavav, in Gujarat, sayshis port was conceptualisedwhen there was neither anypolicy nor any precedence.The ports deep-water andall-weather attributes, as alsoits ideal location on theKathiawar peninsula, madeit an attractive acquisitiontarget in 2005 for AP Mller-Maersk (APM) Terminals, theworlds largest container ter-minal operator belonging tothe Danish AP Mller Group.

A former trustee of theMumbai Port Trust (MbPT)but an entrepreneur at heart,Gandhi is now establishing alarge modern shipyard nextto the port. Pipavav port was

incorporated in 1992 and its first drycargo berth was commissioned fouryears later. SKIL divested the port toAPM Terminals after buying over the26 per cent stake held in the venture bythe Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB).

APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfersays his company has invested morethan Rs11,000 crore in port infrastruc-ture since taking over Pipavav andthat includes a major dredging projectto deepen the draft to 14.5 metres.We are strongly committed to India,as seen in our significant ongoinginvestments at Pipavav and at Gate-way Terminals of India (GTI) atNhava-Sheva off Mumbai, heremarks, paying tribute to the public-private partnership that was integral

to the establishment of the port.Minor, or non-major, ports todayhandle almost half the throughputmanaged by major ports. The 12major ports, which currently have acumulative capacity of 555.67 milliontonnes per annum, handled 530.35million tonnes of cargo in 2008-09. Incontrast, non-major ports have atotal capacity of 228.3 million tonnesand handled 220 million tonnes ofcargo. The relative share of minorports has grown from 35 per cent to 42per cent in the four years since 2004-05 and will soon cross 50 per cent.

Indias 12 major ports are locatedalong its 7,517 km long coastline atCalcutta/Haldia, Chennai, Cochin,Ennore, Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) at

Nhava-Sheva off Mumbai,Kandla, Mormugao, Mum-bai, New Mangalore,Paradip, Tuticorin andVisakhapatnam.

Non-major ports whichare partly or fully operatingor in varying phases ofconstruction or planninginclude Pipavav, Mundra,Hazira, Dahej, Magdalla,Mithivirdi, Positra and Jam-nagar in Gujarat, Dighi,Dharamtar, Rewas, Jaigadand Vijaydurg in Maharash-tra, Krishnapatnam, Gan-gavaram, Kakinada,Machhilipatnam andVodarevu in AndhraPradesh, Vallarpadam and

Investment opportunities Greenfield investments, including new ports

Terminal development: container, bulk, break-bulk terminals

Dredging

Infrastructure facilities (ICDs, CFS, warehouses etc.)

Handling equipment, including cranes

Port connectivity projects

Port-based SEZs

Policy 100% FDI under automatic route is permitted for

port development projects

100% income tax exemption for a period of 10 years

Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) regulates the ceilingfor tariffs at major ports (not applicable for minor ports)

National Maritime Development Policy (NMDP) formulatedto facilitate private investment, improve service quality andpromote competitiveness

Triumphs of privatisationThe privatisation of ports has revolutionised cargo

handling in India by improving efficiency,productivity and quality of services

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Vizhingam in Kerala, Karwar in Kar-nataka, Ennore in Tamil Nadu,Gopalpur, Dhamra and Kirtania inOrissa, Kulpi, near Kolkata, andKaraikal in Pondicherry.

While Mundra has already beencommissioned with a deep draft toberth large vessels, all the new portprojects in various phases of construc-tion have been planned as deep-waterports. Larger parcel sizes (number ofcontainers handled at a time) bring inoperational and, in turn, price efficien-cies. An average Maersk ship that callson JNP Container Terminal (JNPCT)today is approximately 5,000 TEUs insize, as opposed to less than half thatfigure earlier this decade.

In a smaller way, captive jettiesand berths are also being developedby companies like Essar, which hasestablished an oil jetty at Vadinar inGujarat for Rs250 crore; IFFCO,which set up one at Kandla for Rs201crore; Oswal, with a captive Rs100crore berth at Paradip; GammonIndia, that invested Rs175 crore for amulti-purpose berth at Visakhapat-nam; and Tisco, that has a Rs300crore multi-purpose berth at Haldia.

Though the bulk of the countrystrade is carried by sea routes, the cur-rent capacities of the major ports havebeen overstretched and are inadequateto handle trade flows effectively. Theminor ports were originally envisagedto bridge this gap, but ended up evolv-ing into formidable entities on theirown. It will be but a matter of timewhen these ports outpace their longerestablished counterparts in handlingIndias overall maritime traffic.

Ports like Mundra andPipavav have played a keyrole in alleviating the majorports from congestion andcapacity bottlenecks, saysGanesh Raj, senior vice presi-dent and managing director(subcontinent region) of DPWorld States like Gujarathave greatly benefited fromfully utilising the privateparticipation model.

While private terminaloperators at governmentports was the initial step,

fully privatised ports have broughtabout even greater changes and flexi-bility. This has resulted in temperedand reasonable tariff for shipping linesand cargo owners for the services they

receive. Besides, independent third-party service providers have startedoffering a variety of services to theports, ranging from hire of cranes andother equipment to providing softwarefor speedy handling of information.

Autonomy in setting tariffsFormed on the basis of the Major PortTrusts Act of 1963, the dozen majorports are managed by the Port Trusts ofIndia that are under Central govern-ment jurisdiction. The minor ports,

where minority equity is held by theState Maritime Boards and which comeunder the respective state govern-ments, had till recently, never com-peted either with the major ports oramongst themselves.

Once privatisation took off emphat-ically, it energised the port sector. Pri-vate operators were entrusted themanagement of identified terminalswithin ports through the model con-cession agreement devised by thegovernment for public private partici-pation and which was a move awayfrom the restrictive policies of the Tar-iff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP).

The Major Port Trusts Act places nolegal bar on private sector participationin port facilities. Such participation inoperations and infrastructure activities

of seaports has precipitated a radicalchange in the organisational patternfrom service to the landlord model.The landlord port involves itself withplanning, lease negotiation, safety,

navigation and overall co-ordinatingfunctions.Cargo services, marine services,

ancillary services and berths are priva-tised on captive or BOT (build, oper-ate, transfer) basis to the primary portusers. Port operators and other under-takings which need to be located inthe port, lease the land, infrastructureand associated services and providethem to the secondary users, namely,the cargo owners, ship owners andcargo ship owners.

Corporatisation is anotherapproach of the government to pro-vide greater managerial and opera-tional flexibility to the major ports.Ennore has already been registered asIndias first corporatised port underthe Companys Act, 1956, and similarattempts are on for JNP, across theMumbai harbour, and the HaldiaDock Complex, near Kolkata.

Nearly Rs15,000 crore has beeninvested to date in modernising exist-ing ports and in creating new facilities.The opening up of the Indian econ-omy, together with the regulatorychanges in the port sector, have facili-tated such massive investments.

That there is strong faith in theIndian port market was evinced from3is $1.2 billion India InfrastructureFunds purchase in February of aminority stake worth $161 million inKrishnapatnam Port Co Ltd (KPCL),promoted by the Hyderabad-basedNavayuga Group.

Navayuga Group has suc-cessfully commissioned theport within a record time of18 months. Anil Ahuja, 3isAsia head, says the port is ahigh quality asset beingdeveloped on the east coastof India. KrishnapatnamPort is strategically locatedand is being developed by ahighly experienced manage-ment team, he adds.

IDFC Private Equity isanother fund focussed on

Foreign operator

Maersk

Dubai World

PSA Singapore

TEUs handled in 2008

1.48 million

2.85 million

0.45 million

Investment in

JNPT, Pipavav

JNPT, Chennai, Kochi,Visakhapatnam, Mundra

Tuticorin, Chennai

PSA also has a stake in ABG, which is the concessionaire forKandla PortDragados, along with Gammon, are developing the Mumbai Offshore ContainerTerminal

Foreign investments in ports

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Indias infrastructure, including pri-vate ports. We see tremendous oppor-tunity in the port sector in the longterm, mentions Luis Miranda, thecompanys president and CEO, who set

it up in 2002. Evidently, there is muchstruggle discernible in the short termon account of the global meltdown.

IDFC PEs three investmentsDeeming the Model Concession Agree-ment (MCA) an effective instrument ofprivatising ports, Miranda says theagreement fixes port tariff ceilingsupfront, so that contenders in thecompetitive bidding have an incentiveto gain from efficient operations. IDFCPE has made three such investments to

date. It picked up a Rs192 crore stake inPipavav Port in April 2005, anotherworth Rs125 crore in May 2006 in L&T-Infrastructure Development ProjectsLtd (L&T-IDPL), and one worth Rs116crore in Sical Logistics Ltd, the leadingintegrated logistics player from Chen-nai, in April 2007.

IDFC PE associate Gordon DSouzamentions that Sical has won conces-sions for the Ennore Iron Ore Termi-nal, and for the Chennai ContainerTerminal and the Tuticorin ContainerTerminal, both in joint venture withPort of Singapore Authority (PSA).L&T-IDPL plans to build two megaintegrated and commercial port andshipyard projects in the country at acost of Rs3,500 crore, on the west andeast coasts.

Besides, L&T is jointly developing aport with Tata Steel at Dhamra inOrissa. Both the companieshave equal stake in the com-pany floated for constructingthe all-weather deep-waterport at a cost of Rs2,500crore. L&T has also devel-oped a berth at Haldia, and inassociation with RambollConsulting Engineers Ltd,Chennai, and GermanysRogge Marine ConsultingGmbH, prepared the feasibil-ity report for Gangavaramport, near Visakhapatnam.

According to Miranda, hiscompany has not shortlistedany more ports of late for

investment, but has no proposal to exitfrom its current investments either.In the case of Pipavav, though it is

Indias first privatised port, it happensto be only the second modern port inthe country to have been developed ina totally planned manner. The first hadbeen JNP, commissioned on 26 May1989 as Indias 12th major port andwhich is now Indias largest containerhandling port.

JNP is cited as a stellar example ofgovernment initiative in the port sec-tor. Established in 1989, it entered intoa concession agreement with P&OPorts (since acquired by DP World) inJuly 1997 for the developmentof a 680 metre long con-tainer terminal onBOT basis for aperiod of 30years at an

estimated cost of $200 million.This resulted in Indias first privatecontainer terminal, the Nhava-ShevaInternational Container Terminal(NSICT). It commenced operations inApril 1999, handling 491,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in thefirst year (one TEU is equivalent to 12.8tonnes). Last year, it handled 1.43 mil-lion TEUs, compared to 1.06 millionTEUs by JNPCT. This concession agree-ment between JNPCT and NSICT isheld up by the shipping ministry as amodel document for similar privateinvestments at major Indian ports.

The Rs1,000 crore Gateway Termi-nals of India (GTI) is the third con-tainer terminal project at JNP and

was launched in January 2007as a joint venture of APM Ter-minals and Container Corpo-ration of India Ltd (CONCOR).A fourth terminal has alsobeen proposed. GTI CEOArvind Bhatnagar saysthroughput at his porttouched 1.46 million TEUs ona 712-metre quay, making itover 30 per cent more produc-tive than JNPCT on the metricof volume per quay metre. JNPCT is also budgetingRs1,800 crore for dredgingover the next five years to takeits draft from the current12.5 metres to 14 metres andeventually to 16 metres.

Gagan Seksaria, co-founderand principal, Tuscan Ven-

Company PE investor Amount(Rs crore)

Gujarat Pipavav Port IDFC PE 192

Sical IDFC PE 116

Mundra Port GIC, 3i 450

Chennai Container Global Infrastructure 25% stakeTerminal Partners

Dighi Port IL&FS 20% stake

Krishnapatnam Port 3i 994

Gangavaram Port Warburg Pincus 150 (30% stake)

Private equity investments in non-major ports

Ports like Mundra have helped reduce capacity bottlenecks

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tures, a Mumbai-based transportationand logistics focussed investment andadvisory company, estimates thateach dollar a port generates results infour additional dollars from ancillarybusinesses in the vicinity, such asContainer Freight Stations (CFSes),warehouses and transportation.Cases in point are the repeated devel-opments around JNPCT and Mundra,both relatively new port systems, hepoints out.

With a combined containerthroughput of 3.95 million TEUs(50.59 million tonnes) in 2008-09,JNPCT, NSICT and GTI handled 58 percent of Indias container traffic of 6.8million TEUs. This, nevertheless, rep-resents a 2.64 per cent decline from the4.06 million TEUs (51.92 milliontonnes) they had handled in 2007-08 the drop is due to the current globaleconomic downturn.

The fact that trade volumes havesoared from 1.5 million TEUs acrossthe 12 major ports in 1997-98 to closeto 8 million TEUs across these andnon-major ports today underscores thepositive impact privatisation has hadon the industry, observes Ganesh Raj.The sheer trade potential the countryoffers the world at large has compelledinvestments in its port sector.

Strong commitment a mustHe, nonetheless, feels that the mereconcept of privatisation doesnt domuch for a countrys economy. The

real benefit only comes when commit-ment to it is supplemented by a stronginstitutional framework, so that poli-cies needed to make things happen canbe implemented effectively, he avers.

Dubai government-owned DPWorld, which in 2006 became theworlds third largest container termi-nal operator with the acquisition ofP&O Ports, operates five terminals inIndia. These are Mundra InternationalContainer Terminal (MICT), Nhava-Sheva International Container Termi-nal (NSICT), DP World Chennai, DPWorld Cochin, and VisakhapatnamContainer Terminal.

MICT, for instance, was acquired byP&O from the Adani Group in May2003 and commenced operations twomonths later. Adani still runs the bulkand specialised cargo port and themulti-product SEZ adjoining it.Mundra port and SEZ had been incor-porated as Gujarat Adani Port Ltd(GAPL) in 1998 to develop a privateport at Mundra.

The company commenced com-mercial operations in October 2001,with Mundra Special Economic ZoneLtd (MSEZ) being incorporated inNovember 2003 to set up an SEZ atMundra. MSEZ was merged with GAPLin April 2006 and the company rechris-tened Mundra Port and Special Eco-nomic Zone Ltd (MPSEZL) to reflectthe nature of business.

Adani Group chairman GautamAdani says his diversified conglomer-

ate started out in 1988 as a trustedtrading house and has sinceexpanded into global trading, coalmining, power generation, oil andgas exploration, natural gas distribu-tion, logistics, realty development,ports and SEZs. The Gujarat govern-ments support to our realisationthat a credible port infrastructure isessential for the promotion of globaltrade opened up port developmentto the private sector and led to thesetting up of the Mundra Port, heobserves. Subsequently, when thegovernment declared its SEZ policyto create globally competitive hubsof economic activity in India, westarted work on the establishment ofan SEZ at Mundra.

The small port of Dighi, that iscoming up on the Maharashtra main-land off the Mumbai harbour, is posi-tioning itself between the two majorports of JNP and Mumbai, to cash inon lighterage traffic. Vijay Kalantri, itspromoter who chairs Balaji Infra Pro-jects Ltd, says, While JNP is primarilya container port and Mumbai Port hasinadequate bulk cargo facilities andlacks direct berthing for coal cargo,Dighi Port is addressing this graveissue and creating dedicated facilitiesto handle coal cargo.

Kalantri quotes estimates thatlighterage by which coal is handledin Maharashtra adds a cost of just $6per tonne compared to directberthing, and this rises to $9 per

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West Coast Ports

One port with high aspirations is Dighi, located 43 nauticalmiles across the Mumbai harbour. Promoted by Mumbai-based Balaji Infra Projects Ltd (BIPL), the facility is endeavour-ing for partial commissioning of port facilities by June and forfull commissioning of Phase I a year later, when its installedcargo handling capacity is proposed to be 30 million tonnes.

Balaji CMD Vijay Kalantri, who is also CMD of Dighi Port Ltd(DPL), says his port is Maharashtras first to have received envi-ronment clearance, apart from all other requisite permissionsand approvals. Value addition has also materialised withDighi securing approvals for a port-based multipurpose SEZ,

inclusive of a Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ), and a railproject to ensure efficient connectivity, he says. While Phase Iwill have an outlay of Rs1,650 crore, rail and road infrastructurecosting Rs500 crore, all the three phases are estimated to costRs2,500 crore. The port is being set up as an all-weather, deep-draft and direct-berthing port at Dighi, close to the coastal vil-lages of Murud and Janjira in Maharashtras Raigad district.Kalantris son and DPL director, Vishal, says the commoditieshandled will be minerals, coal, POL (petroleum, oil and lubri-cants), chemicals, fertilisers, fertiliser raw material, containers,LNG, cement, iron ore, steel, edible oil, automobiles and auto-mobile components.

Not far from Dighi is Rewas Port, an ambitious venture ofMukesh Ambani's group company, Reliance Logistics Invest-ment, and Jai Corp, a company belonging to his close aide,Anand Jain. The first phase of this port, envisaged as a megaport on the west coast, was estimated to cost over Rs5,000crore. It entails construction of 10 berths with an annual cargohandling capacity of 55 million tonnes as also a container ter-minal with capacity to handle 2.6 million TEUs per annum. Butthe project is mired in land transfer issues as it includes an SEZalongside. Both companies hold a combined 65 per cent stakein the project, with the MMB owning 11 per cent and the ini-tial promoter, Amma Lines, the remaining 24 per cent. Dredg-ing work in the port channel, to deepen it to 14.5 metres, hasalso been postponed for now.

The two private sector ports in Gujarat at Mundra andPipavav have also experienced growth at a scorching pace. Infact, Gautam Adanis MundraPort is positioning itself to gain abig share of diversified cargo. It is constructing three deep-water offshore berths, two sets of stackyards for coal, iron oreand miscellaneous dry bulk and a dedicated LNG berth. Theport is simultaneously setting up a Pure Car Carrier/Pure CarTruck Carrier (PCC/PCTC) berth with expansive parking spacethat will help evolve the port into a major hub for automobileexports. Two more crossing stations will also be added alongthe 64 km privately developed railway line to increase capacityfrom 32 to 40 rakes a day. Besides, the railway line will be dou-

ble-laned in a phased manner. The 10 km two-lane externalroad connecting Mundras road network to the port will alsobe converted to four lanes.

Besides the two private sector ports, the ports under theumbrella of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) which recordedstrong growth in cargo handling included Jhakau, Navlakhi,Sikka and Veraval. In fact, GMB led the way for privatisation ofthe ports sector in India. In 2007-08, GMP ports had a capacityto handle 198 million tonnes. During FY09, the capacity atGujarats non-major ports grew 20 per cent to reach 235 mil-lion tonnes. This growth was due to the new projects forexpansion taken on hand. GMBs strategic expansion plan wasbased on the fact that the time was ripe for further ramping upthe handling capacity of its non-major ports as major ports inIndia were facing congestion problems.

When Dubai Ports acquired India Gateway Terminal, whichit renamed DP World Cochin, in February 2005, it also signeda 34-year concession agreement with the Cochin Port Trust(CoPT) to develop the International Container TransshipmentTerminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam on a build, operate and trans-fer (BOT) basis.

The Rs2,118 crore and 115-hectare ICTT Vallarpadam ison course to be Indias first global hub terminal and, oncecommissioned, will influence investment inflows into theregion. The site has been notified as a port-based SEZ esti-mated to cost Rs1,510 crore. The development has launched aseries of ventures, including a Rs1,600 crore LNG terminal, aRs315 crore international ship repair complex, a Rs720 croresingle buoy mooring for Kochi Refineries Ltd, a Rs7,000 crorepetrochemical complex for GAIL, as also a bunkering terminal,bulk cargo and cruise ship terminals, and a world-class marina.

N SB

MundraKandla

Dighi

Mormugao

Mumbai

JNPT

Vallarpadam

DP World Cochin(India Gateway Terminal)

Gujarat

Maharashtra

Goa

Karnataka

Dahej

Hazira

Pipavav

KarwarNew Mangalore

Mangalore

Kerala

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The west coast of India is dotted with 14

major and minor ports

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East Coast Ports

Aprivatised port that aspires to be the largest inIndia, once fully operational, is Krishnapatnam, pro-moted by the Hyderabad-based construction firm ofNavayuga Engineering Co Ltd (NECL), part of the diversifiedNavayuga Group.

Located in Andhra Pradeshs Nellore district,Krishnapatnam commenced commercial operations lastyear, five months ahead of schedule, and is developing inthree phases from a current cargo handling capacity of 20million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 100 MTPA by 2015,says C. Visweswar Rao, chairman and managing director

of Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd (KPCL). It had athroughput of eight million tonnes in its first year ofoperations.

KPCL has a 50-year build, operate, share and transfer(BOST) concession agreement with the Andhra Pradeshgovernment. While its Rs791 crore Phase I was completed ina record 18 months and inaugurated last July, it recentlyachieved financial closure of Rs4,000 crore for its secondphase, to be ready by January 2012.

Another success story has been that of the KakinadaDeep Water Port (KDWP), that came up in 1999 as Indiasfirst privatised port on the east coast.

Operated by Kakinada Seaports Ltd, the all-weather port,with a deep draft of 12 metres, registered throughput of 7.8million tonnes in 2008-09. It also undertook ship to shiptransfer of 6.7 million tonnes of crude from Very LargeCrude Carriers (VLCCs) that are between 200,000 and320,000 DWT.

Kakinada port managing director K.V. Rao says his ven-ture is the result of a unique marketing vision to develop it asa supply base support facility.

This is for the offshore exploration and drilling activitiesin the Krishna Godavari oil and gas fields of Reliance Indus-tries Ltd (RIL), Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, Oil andNatural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), Gujarat State Petro-leum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) and Cairn Energy Ltd.

The port is located on the Andhra coastline, between themajor ports of Visakhapatnam and Chennai.

The latest private port is Karaikal, in Puducherry(Pondicherry), that received its first cargo vessel on 15 April.Promoted by Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd (KPPL), a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of the Chennai-based construction Group ofMARG Ltd, the port is being developed on a Build, Operateand Transfer (BOT) basis.

The 600-acre, all-weather and deep-water port is deep-ening its draft from the present 12.5 metres with a cargohandling capacity of 5.2 MTPA. The eventual 16.5 metredraft, in the third and last phase, will be operational by 2015

and will raise the capacity to 45 MTPA.Its promoter, MARG chairman and managing director

G.R.K. Reddy, notes, As the finest port on the east coast,Karaikal will unleash the economic potential of central TamilNadu and Puducherry.

Gangavaram Port, developed and operated 15 km southof Visakhapatnam on a BOOT basis by Gangavaram Port Ltd(GPL), is being built as one with the deepest draft of 21metres in the country.

The 743 hectare multi-cargo all-weather facility is pro-moted by D.V.S. Raju, chairman of Visual Soft Ltd.

The first phase of the port is complete, comprising five berths for achieving a cargo handling capacity of35 million tonnes. Gangavaram Port Ltd (GPL) handled2.5 million tonnes in its first year of operations andhas a master plan to establish 29 berths over a periodof 50 years.

D.V.S. Raju foresees the port greatly benefiting industrythrough its deep draft that will enable super Capesizevessels up to 300,000 DWT to dock alongside. The portis capable of evacuating cargo from its coal berth at the rateof 60,000 tonnes per day (TPD) and iron ore at 70,000TPD, notes V. Srinivas Kumar, head of GPLs corporatecommunications.

Its current five berths and harbour depth of 21 metres,said to be the deepest amongst Indian ports, are capable ofhandling vessels up to 200,000 DWT. Its master plan pro-poses to extend the draft to 24 metres to handle 300,000DWT vessels and to construct up to 30 berths to handle 200million tonnes of cargo per annum.

N SB

KakinadaMachhlipatnam

Krishnapatnam

Ennore

Chennai

Tuticorin

Karaikal (Union Territory of Puducherry)

GangavaramVisakhapatnam

Gopalpur

Paradip

Calcutta/Haldia

AndhraPradesh

Orissa

WestBengal

Tamil

Nadu

Private Ports Survey

Twelve notable port facilities have been created

along the countrys eastern coast

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tonne when such cargo is handled byGujarat ports and freighted to Maha-rashtra. This is where Dighi proposesto bridge the gap and, once commis-sioned, will be an all-weather port

with dedicated facilities for bulk,break bulk, coal, cars and containercargo, he mentions.

Rohit Pattnaik, port consultantwith Gurgaon-based Drewry MarineServices Pvt Ltd, the India arm of theUK-based maritime consultancyMNC, notes that increasing volumesare shifting to private container ter-minal operators. Private containerterminal operators today handle 80per cent of container volumes inIndia, this scenario being the exact

opposite 10 years back, he men-tions. This clearly shows that pri-vate operators have provensuccessful as they brought in capital,international expertise and betterport management technologies. Headds, however, that the ongoing eco-nomic downturn has depressedthroughputs across the board.

Mundras ideal performancePattnaik indicates that thoughNhava-Sheva benefits from the pres-ence of private terminal operators,overall port management and futuredevelopment plans still lie in govern-ment hands. In such a scenario, pri-vate ports like Mundra haveperformed better, he argues. Aver-age pre-berthing time as per currentestimates was 27.36 hours at JNPT,but only 4.8 hours at Mundra.

The government, though, is surely

aiming high. It proposes to almostdouble the handling capacity of majorports to over 1,000 million tonnesand to exponentially scale up that ofnon-major ports to 573 milliontonnes by 2011-12. One study pro-jects port traffic at all major ports toexpand by 7.7 per cent per annum till2013-14 and at the non major ports byan even higher 8.5 per cent. The Plan-ning Commission projects traffic atIndian ports to grow to 1,225 milliontonnes by 2014.

Welcoming the focus on the devel-opment of new berths and terminals,the Indian Ports Association, however,considers equally vital the creation of asupportive beyond-port logisticsinfrastructure that can ensure theirefficient utilisation. Improved connec-tivity to the hinterland is crucial for

efficient cargo movement.Gandhi indicates that while the sea

freight component is almost at parwith international levels, high inlandhaulage tariffs render the landed costsat the ultimate destinations higher andthus non-competitive, especially asvessel-related charges at Indian portsremain high. For instance, vesselcharges add up to nearly $25,000 at JNPCT, compared to $16,000 atJebel Ali or Singapore for 30,000 DWTcontainer vessels.

Fortunately, NMDP is also provid-ing for the development of connectiv-ity projects, as well as for deepeningberthsides and navigation channels,and acquisition of portside equip-ment. Pattnaik says NMDP comprises387 projects at an estimated cost ofRs100,000 crore. Of these, 43 projectsat a cost of Rs5,710 crore have beencompleted and 165 projects at a costof Rs37,191 crore are currently underimplementation.

The planners have realised thatcargo in high demand-low supplyyears is forced to seek alternate, oftenmore expensive, routes, such as thetrans-shipment at Colombo for south-ern and eastern Indian cargo.

This really shouldnt be necessaryif Indian ports are large enough, deepenough and quick enough.

N SAROSH BANA

Adani says his plans for Mundra opened up

port privatisation in India

Kalantri says Dighi is Maharashtras first

port to secure environment clearance

Activity Pilotage Vessel Wharf handling Yard Gatecharges tuggage handling wharfage handling processing

Activity Harbour Dockage Wharfage Storage Gatecharges fees dues

Harbour Berth Apron Container Gateyard

Revenue stream

PALASHRANJANBHAU

MICK