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Santanu Sanyal

Kolkata, Feb. 15

The Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has shown interest in acquiring equity stakes, preferably minority stakes, in Indian ports.

The Dutch Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Mr Cameil Eurlings, told Business Line here on Friday that the issue came up for a review at his meeting earlier this week with the Union Shipping Minister, Mr T.R. Baalu, who gave positive response and promised to look into it.

“During my discussion with Mr Baalu, we agreed to constitute a bilateral working group to explore opportunities for co-operation in the fields of capacity creation in the port sector, undertaking dredging and developing inland waterways in India,” Mr Eurlings observed.

Mr Pieter Struijs, President-Director, Port of Rotterdam, told Business Line that that the Rotterdam port authority was already having a stake in a port in Oman and providing assistance in port management. Something similar could be worked out for Indian ports also. The management of port would be on the model of landlord port. “We’re not interested in cargo-handling and other day-to-day port operations,” he said.

The dredging requirement in India was steadily rising even as the country suffered seriously from the shortage of domestic dredging capacity. It was suggested at the meeting with Mr Baalu that some of the Dutch shipbuilding firms would set up facilities in India, preferably in partnership with local firms, to build dredgers locally to meet the country’s growing requirement. Also, training would be arranged for the Indian personnel.

“This is important to meet the shortage of dredgers worldwide as most Dutch dredging companies are booked with orders for the next few years,” Mr Eurlings said.

Mr Eurlings also discussed with Mr Nirupam Sen, West Bengal Minister for Commerce & Industry, the scope of Dutch investments in the State’s maritime sector. Later, Mr Sen told newspersons that four areas had been identified for probable Dutch cooperation and these included, the development of a deep-sea port, development of inland waterways, dredging of the waterways with the use of the dredged spoil for land reclamation and ship-building and ship-repairing.

Mr Sen felt it should be possible to reclaim about 2,000 acres in Nayachara Island through disposal of the spoil to be dredged out of the capital dredging at Balari under Kolkata port’s River Regulatory Scheme.

Dr A.K. Chanda, Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust, who was also present, said that another 10,000 acres had already been identified at Jellingham for shore disposal of the material being dredged out of the maintenance dredging in the Hooghly river.

Earlier, Mr Eurlings, Mr Sen and Dr Chanda, among others, participated in a maritime seminar which focused on port planning and design, shipbuilding and design, salvage operations, dredging, simulation tools, vessel traffic management system, hinterland transport, logistics and equipment supply.

The representatives of about 30 leading Dutch firms from the country’s maritime sector attended the seminar.

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