Western ports draw huge private funds to meet NMDP targets

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

25 Dec 2007

States along the west coast that have been aggressive in attracting private investment for developing ports and shipyards along their coastlines also seem to have clocked the maximum progress in implementing the Ministry of Shipping's Rs 55,000-crore National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP). Minister for shipping, road transport and highways T R Baalu recently informed Parliament that ports like Kandla in Gujarat, Kochi in Kerala, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai and Mormugao in Goa, have so far spent the highest sums in implementing NMDP projects. The NMDP, launched in 2005, is aimed at modernising and upgrading the infrastructure and capacity of the 12 major ports in the country by 2011-12. Leading the pack of spenders is Kandla port, which has used over 25 per cent of its Rs 5,000-crore outlay in the last three years. The port - which has to undertake 26 projects under NMDP - has already finished six projects, is currently working on nine more, and the rest are slated to be taken up over the next five years. Mumbai's leading container port JNPT, too, has made significant headway in undertaking the 32 projects it has been accorded under NMDP. It has so far spent Rs 1,220 crore of its approximate Rs 7,200-crore project outlay to deepen channels and berths, procure better equipment and construct other support infrastructure. Mormugao Port Trust in Goa, which exports 33 per cent of India-s iron ore, has managed to spend an encouraging 25 per cent of its Rs 800-crore outlay under NMDP over the last three years, placing it in a competitive position to take on rival ore-exporting ports on the east coast like Paradip and Vizag. The Kochi port in Kerala, which is scheduled to undertake a total 14 projects, has also done well in spending over Rs 700 crore - 10 per cent of its total planned outlay - since 2005. Put together, these four ports account for 77 per cent of the Rs 4,500 crore expenditure incurred by all the 12 major ports in the country over the last three years.  Compared to this, ports on the east coast have yet to make any substantial strides on projects under NMDP. Most of the ports, including Vizag, Kolkata, Tuticorin, New Mangalore, Ennore and Paradip, have spent an average of only 5 per cent out of their total envisaged expenditure under NMDP. ''A total of 276 projects covering the entire gamut of activities in ports including deepening channels, construction/ reconstruction of berths, procurement of equipment, rail and road connectivity works have been identified under NMDP,'' Baalu informed. Of the projected Rs 55,000 crore to be spent on these 276 projects, as much as 60 per cent is expected to come in through private participation, while around 25 per cent is meant to be funded by the major ports through internal accruals. With west coast ports aggressively wooing private sector involvement, they seem better poised to achieve the NMDP targets, threatening to leave east coast ports far behind in the race for modernisation and upgradation.