There are 12 Major Ports wholly owned by the Government of India and governed by the provisions of the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021. These are Deendayal Port, Mumbai Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mormugao Port, New Mangalore Port, Cochin Port, V.O. Chidambaranar Port, Chennai Port, Kamarajar Port, Visakhapatnam Port, Paradip Port, and Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.
Private Sector Participation has been allowed in the Major Ports for specific projects / berths / terminals on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis through concession agreements for a fixed tenure through a globally open competitive bidding process on revenue share/royalty between the Major Port Authority and the concessionaire. After the expiry of the concession period, the asset is handed over to the Major Port Authority.
There are 213 non-major ports managed by and under the control of the respective State Maritime Board / State Government. The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of a Major Port at Vadhavan, near Dahanu, in Maharashtra on 19.06.2024 with a total project cost of ₹76,220 crore where a major portion is on PPP mode.
The capacity utilisation in Indian ports was around 57% in the FY 2023-24.
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