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P. Manoj

Mundra port in Gujarat... One among the 14 minor ports to be developed under the Sagar Mela project.

MARITIME and non-maritime states will get a big boost with the implementation of the Rs 1,00,000 crore Sagar Mala project announced by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for ports, shipping and inland water transport sectors in the country.

The Shipping Ministry has proposed several policy initiatives for the benefit of the states in its blueprint for the Sagar Mala project. These include raising the limit of financial assistance given to State governments for carrying out feasibility/hydrographic/environmental studies for port development.

The existing Central Scheme provides for assistance to State governments for up to 50 per cent of the cost of the study subject to a maximum ceiling of Rs 20 lakhs.

"This ceiling will be raised to Rs 50 lakhs. Besides, the scheme, which now covers only maritime states, will be extended to all states," says the Ministry document.

The Centre will formulate a scheme for providing assistance to develop a new port or improve an existing one through self-participation or through participation of major ports in a special purpose vehicle (SPV)/ joint venture or any other organisational structure with the maritime states concerned. The extent and mode of contribution by the Centre will be worked out.

New ports will be set up along the coast where a natural draft of at least six to eighty metres is available within one kilometre from the low water mark. For setting up fishing harbours, the required draft will be four to six metres.

Central/State government funding for setting up basic facilities at such ports will be considered provided there is no other port with adequate draft at a minimum distance of 75 km on either side.

The Ministry has identified a list of 14 strategically located minor ports owned/controlled by the maritime State governments/Union Territories that are to be developed exclusively for the purposes of coastal shipping in the first phase at an estimated cost of Rs 420 crore.

These minor ports are Cuddalore, Vizhinjam, Azzhikal, Karwar, Ratnagiri, Krishnapatnam, Kakinada Deep Water Port, Malpe, Gopalpur, Dharamtar, Magdalla, Sikka, Pipavav and Mundra. In the second phase, 20 more minor ports will be identified for the development with an investment of Rs 800 crore.

This would give a further fillip to the cargo handling potential of minor ports. Out of a total of 185 minor ports in the country, about 61 undertake cargo handling operations. And, over the last few years, the minor ports have been steadily expanding their share of sea-borne traffic.

From 27.83 million tonnes of cargo traffic representing 11 per cent of the sea-borne traffic in 1996-97, the cargo handled at minor ports have touched 98.90 million tonnes in 2002-03, accounting for 24 per cent of the ocean-borne traffic.

The Centre will encourage maritime states to participate in the development of coastal shipping for improving facilities and harmonising documentation at minor ports.

Land-locked States/Union Territories may be assigned one or two ports with which they could tie-up for providing port facilities. The State government/Union Territory administration can share the investments required for setting up such facilities. The Centre will also put in place arrangements for formation of joint ventures between major ports, maritime states, land-locked states and Union Territories for setting up such port facilities.

A Shipping Ministry official said that insulation of the Centre from sponsoring development of ports other than major ports has left a void in the evolution of a coordinated strategy for port development in the country.

Sagar Mala also encompass infrastructure development on the existing three National Waterways (Ganga, Brahmaputra and West Coast Canal having a combined length of 2,700 km) and six new National Waterways at an estimated cost of Rs 5,700 crores.

Besides, the development of state waterways (about 4,000 km) on the lines of National Waterways at a cost of Rs 1,800 crores will be taken up through centrally-sponsored schemes.

Since inland water transport development in the country is at a nascent stage, comparatively higher level of public sector or state involvement will be desirable. States would be senior partners in infrastructure building such as adequate draft, fairways, permanent terminals and navigational aids, while private sector will be senior partners in vessel operations.

States can also adopt the National Inland Navigation Institute (NINI) model to set up training institutes for training manpower for the IWT sector.

Further, inland container depots (ICDs) and container freight stations (CFSs) will be set up in each state capital and major industrial centres, reveals the Sagar Mala blueprint.

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