The country currently has 12 major ports and nearly 200 non-major ports. However, with the Shipping Ministry planning to augment the monetary gains from the sector during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, the sector is expected to witness more investments in the coming years. The Ministry also plans to increase the capacities of all ports to 2.5 billion tonnes by 2016-17.
While speaking to reporters, Shipping secretary K Mohandas said that expert teams have been sent for examining the sites. Issues like availability of sites, commercial viability of the place and cargo supply from hinterland have to be considered before arriving at a conclusion. The teams will submit their report once they examine the sites.
Increasing exports
The port sector has not seen much of activity in recent times due to environmental and security concerns. However, with the agricultural sector witnessing huge harvest over the last few months, the need for export has gone up. With it has gone up the need for better infrastructure at ports. Rohit Mehta, president of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “With the production of utility items like cotton being high, the demand for export has gone up. Outsourcing of surplus materials can not only mean profit for the farmers, but also a boon for the economy.”
The traffic handled at major ports during 2010-11 was estimated to be 570 million tonnes (MT), while at non-major ports it was 315 MT. The government is planning to invest an additional Rs 2.76 lakh crore to increase the capacity of ports
.
Sambuddha Sengupta |
In what can be seen as a move that will bolster the shipping industry in India, four Indian states including Andhra Pradesh (AP), Kerala and Gujarat have proposed to invest Rs 10,000 crore for developing major ports. While approaching the Centre with their proposal the states have sought permission to begin the construction work for the ports in the four states. While AP has named multiple sites for the construction purpose, the other three states have suggested one each. 
