The Ministry of Shipping
is likely to float
global bids for setting
up a ship repair facility at
Mumbai Port. The ministry
has directed the Maharashtra
government to provide the
required land for the project
at the port and the Port Trust
to put in the required capital,
either independently or
through joint venture.
Terming ship repair as a
lucrative business, MoS official
stated that presently Indian
vessels sail to Colombo or
Singapore for undertaking
repairs. The government is
also considering setting up a
similar facility at Cochin Port
if the present model works
out successfully.
As per reports, the global
shipbuilding and ship repair
industry is likely to attain a
value of
14 lakh crore by
2015 due to the growing global
seaborne trade.
MoS also plans to establish
two more major ports—one
on the East Coast, possibly in
Andhra Pradesh, and the
other on the West Coast in the
country. The projects are
expected to attract an investment
of
2,000 crore. The
ministry had formed technical
committees to identify suitable
locations proposed by
the governments of Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka for
development of ports for
which Andhra Pradesh had
proposed three sites, including
Nellore, Visakhapatnam
and Vijayawada.