34 port terminals in PPP mode under construction

The Government of India invested around Rs. 21,000 crore in 30 projects signalling a capacity addition of around 217 million tonnes in 2013-14 even as it has announced several new port-related projects during the current year. Apart from the projects, the government unveiled several new policies with regard to tariff structure, security clearances and environment approvals. The ports sector has become the best example for PPP mode of development, especially after tariff reforms. With these initiatives, the capacity at the 13 major ports increased from 575 million tonnes in 2009 to 800 million tonnes until early 2014.

During the last four years, the government cleared 88 new projects with an investment of around Rs. 42,953 crore, leading to additional capacity of 558 million tpa. Work on many of these projects is underway. Today, some 36 PPP terminals are in operation in major ports and another 34 are under construction.

The largest project in the Indian ports sector is the fourth container terminal at JNPT at Sheva, Navi Mumbai, which was awarded to PSA Investments Pvt. Ltd of Singapore. It will have a quay length of 2,000 metres and an annual capacity of 4.8 million TEUs. The estimated cost of project, to be developed on DBFOT basis, is Rs. 7,915 crore. The project is expected to more than double the container handling capacity of JN Port.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of a port-based multi-product special economic zone at JNPT. The SEZ is to be developed on 277 hectares of land with a total public and private investment of around Rs. 4,000 crore. The project will be constructed on EPC basis within three years.

Modi also laid the foundation of a Rs. 1,927-crore port connectivity highway project at JNPT and allotment of land to the project-affected persons under the 12.5 per cent scheme of the Maharashtra government implemented by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. The connectivity project is to be completed by December 2017.

On September 10, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the development of an additional liquid bulk terminal, also at JNPT, at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,496 crore. The project will be taken up in PPP mode on DBFOT basis.

Meanwhile, the government has announced new land policy guidelines for the major ports in order to bring in transparency and accountability in leasing of port land. It is also laying renewed thrust on coastal shipping, including between the ports of Bangladesh and the eastern ports of India, inland waterways, and Indian Maritime University under which three new campuses have been opened, one each in Kerala, Gujarat and Puducherry. For the first time, the Ministry of Shipping commended large-scale movement of coal through National Waterway-I for NTPC’s power unit at Farrakka, West Bengal.

To promote marine tourism, the government plans to develop 15 lighthouses in phase-I of this project.
RECENT CONTRACTS IN PORTS SECTOR

Source: www.projectstoday.com