India, Asia's third-biggest economy, plans to triple port capacity within a decade, as it tackles infrastructure deficiencies that threaten to dampen growth.
Changes ahead: The state-controlled operator of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's busiest container harbour, will likely be turned into a corporation by the end of March, paving the way for an eventual share sale
The country needs 'urgent action' to ensure that it has sufficient seaport capacity, Secretary of Shipping K Mohandas said in an Aug 25 interview in his office in New Delhi. 'Ports are very important to India's economic growth.'
The government intends to open new harbours and sell stakes in ports to help annual capacity reach 3.2 billion tonnes under a 10-year plan that will be released next month, Mr Mohandas said.
The nation is also building highways, railways and airports to ease transport bottlenecks that could cost 1.1 percentage points of growth in fiscal 2017, according to McKinsey & Co.
Indian ports will likely handle more than 2.5 billion tons of cargo a year by 2020, Mr Mohandas said. Throughput in the year ended March rose 14 per cent to 844.9 million tonnes. Nationwide capacity is about 996 million tonnes, said Rakesh Srivastava, joint secretary for ports at the shipping ministry.
Contracts for 25 public-private port projects will be awarded in the year ending March, which will draw 140 billion rupees (S$4.05 billion) of private investment, Mr Mohandas said.
The government awarded 13 projects last fiscal year. State contributions to these partnerships are usually in the form of land, dredging and connections to road and rail links, he said.
The government also intends to award concessions for two new terminals at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port this fiscal year, including one for a facility able to handle more shipments than the harbour's three existing terminals, Mr Mohandas said.
The state-controlled operator of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's busiest container harbor, will likely be turned into a corporation by the end of March, paving the way for an eventual share sale, Mohandas said.
'Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the first possible candidate for corporatisation,' he said. 'A final decision has not been taken but hopefully it will happen this year.'
Mr Mohandas declined to comment on what size stake the government may sell in the port operator and on when a sale could happen. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Dubai-based DP World Ltd, and an AP Moeller-Maersk A/S-Container Corp of India Ltd. venture currently run terminals at the port.
Changes ahead: The state-controlled operator of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's busiest container harbour, will likely be turned into a corporation by the end of March, paving the way for an eventual share sale
The country needs 'urgent action' to ensure that it has sufficient seaport capacity, Secretary of Shipping K Mohandas said in an Aug 25 interview in his office in New Delhi. 'Ports are very important to India's economic growth.'
The government intends to open new harbours and sell stakes in ports to help annual capacity reach 3.2 billion tonnes under a 10-year plan that will be released next month, Mr Mohandas said.
The nation is also building highways, railways and airports to ease transport bottlenecks that could cost 1.1 percentage points of growth in fiscal 2017, according to McKinsey & Co.
Indian ports will likely handle more than 2.5 billion tons of cargo a year by 2020, Mr Mohandas said. Throughput in the year ended March rose 14 per cent to 844.9 million tonnes. Nationwide capacity is about 996 million tonnes, said Rakesh Srivastava, joint secretary for ports at the shipping ministry.
Contracts for 25 public-private port projects will be awarded in the year ending March, which will draw 140 billion rupees (S$4.05 billion) of private investment, Mr Mohandas said.
The government awarded 13 projects last fiscal year. State contributions to these partnerships are usually in the form of land, dredging and connections to road and rail links, he said.
The government also intends to award concessions for two new terminals at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port this fiscal year, including one for a facility able to handle more shipments than the harbour's three existing terminals, Mr Mohandas said.
The state-controlled operator of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's busiest container harbor, will likely be turned into a corporation by the end of March, paving the way for an eventual share sale, Mohandas said.
'Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the first possible candidate for corporatisation,' he said. 'A final decision has not been taken but hopefully it will happen this year.'
Mr Mohandas declined to comment on what size stake the government may sell in the port operator and on when a sale could happen. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Dubai-based DP World Ltd, and an AP Moeller-Maersk A/S-Container Corp of India Ltd. venture currently run terminals at the port.