The Hindu Business Line : TN formulates minor ports policy

The Government hopes that with the development of new ports with modern cargo handling facilities, many of these ports would emerge as transhipment ports for handling cargo in international trade with countries such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Madagascar and South Africa.

The minor ports covered are Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Rameswaram, Pamban, Valinokkam, Kanyakumari, Colachel, Kattupalli, Ennore, Cheyyur, Thiruchopuram, Silambimangalam Shipyard, Thirukkadaiyur, Thirukkuvalai, Punnakayal, Manappad and any other port identified by TNMB.

In an order dated August 14, 2007, issued by the Highways Department, Mr K. Allaudin, Secretary of the department, said that along the nearly 1,000 km length of Tamil Nadu coastline, there were three major ports and 15 minor ports that handled about 13 per cent of the total import and export of India in 2005-06 amounting to 74 million tonnes.

Focus on productivity

The Government felt that there was vast scope for improving the productivity of the ports and apart from handling cargo, these could be used for coastal passenger traffic and activities such as leisure and water sports also could be introduced. All the ports were fair weather ports and the draft of these ports could be made deepened through dredging. The Government was of the view that the potential of these ports should be ‘jointly exploited with the private sector’.

The objectives of the minor port policy were to increase the share of Tamil Nadu in the export and import activities, in national and international trade and commerce, to decongest the at Ennore, Chennai and Tuticorin so as to improve their productivity,, to create sufficient infrastructure facilities to handle 25 per cent of the country’s total cargo in Tamil Nadu Maritime waters, to provide facilities to encourage ship building, repairing, breaking and manufacture of cranes and floating crafts and so on.