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Mr Sushil Jiwarajka (left), Chairman of FICCI's Western Region Council, and Mr Ramu S. Deora, President, All- India Shippers Council, at the `Maritime Industry Forum 2005' seminar in Mumbai on Thursday. - Shashi Ashiwal

Mumbai , June 16

REPRESENTATIVES of the port and shipping industries met in Mumbai on Thursday to discuss ways to increase the profitability for private investments in these sectors at a seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Issues such as financing of port and shipping projects, investment and capital management and the business of logistics and handling were discussed at length.

Giving an estimate of the investment required in the shipping industry, Mr Yudhisthir Khatau, Managing Director of Varun Shipping, and Vice-President of the Indian National Shipowners Association, said over 50 per cent of vessels in the Indian fleet in the dry bulk segment and 44 per cent in the oil tankers segment were more than 20 years old. "At current prices, the cost of just replacement of the over 20-year fleet by 2009 will be over $2 billion," he pointed out.

On the port expansion front, Mr R.K. Jain, Managing Director of Indian Ports Association (IPA), said the National Maritime Development Programme envisaged private investments worth Rs 39,149 crore involving 228 projects in the next 10 years. He said the areas that required attention included draft deepening, capacity augmentation and hinterland connectivity.

Mr P.K. Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director of Shipping Corporation of India; Mr Sushil Jiwarajka, Chairman of FICCI's Western Region Council; Mr George Tharakan, Lead Transport Specialist of the World Bank; Mr S.S. Rangnekar, SCI's Director; Mr Ravi Budhiraja, Chairman of JNPT, and Capt. N.K. Gupta, Chairman of Dredging Corporation of India spoke at the seminar.

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