The board has set a growth target of 20% for the current fiscal. On the other hand, traffic growth for the country’s 12 major ports ranged from flat to negative, with the Kandla Port, the country’s largest, registering a 3% increase in 2010-11 at 81.88 million tonnes, against a target of 85 million tonnes. The port had handled 79.50 million tonnes in 2009-10. According to Data from the Indian Ports Association, the highest growth was reported by the Adani Group-promoted Mundra Port, which saw traffic jump 28% to 51.60 million tonnes of cargo in 2010-11, against 40.30 million tonnes in the previous year. In contrast, the major ports at Paradip, New Mangalore and Gangavaram reported negative growth in 2010-11, while the remaining major ports saw growth in the range of 0-8%. Private operator APM Terminals at Pipavav grew almost 14% over the 6.85 million tonnes of cargo handled in 2009-10. “We are aware of ports facing stiff competition from private players, but we will encourage competition as this will force ports to devise strategies to offer better services,” a official from the ministry of shipping said. “The major ports should be able to clock 9-10% growth in the current fiscal,” said Indian Ports Association managing director Janardhana Rao. The gap in traffic between major and minor ports is projected to widen with increasing number of private ports and jetties coming into service. “The Gujarat government and privately-owned ports will have a total capacity of 500 million tonnes by 2015. During 2010-11, almost 50 million tonnes of capacity was added by GMB, Essar, Mundra, Bharat Oman Refinery and others,” GMB vice-chairman and CEO Pankaj Kumar said. “Private players are more efficient and provide value-added services. Lack of stringent guidelines act as a deterrent for major ports. Private ports have a better turnaround time and there is a need for PSU ports to learn from the same,” said Samir Kanabar, Ernst & Young partner, Infrastructure Practice.
Monday, December 23, 2024
