Projects worth Rs.1.2 cr to woo investors at Maritime India Summit

Projects worth Rs.1.2 cr to woo investors at Maritime India Summit

Republic of Korea to partner MIS 2016, to be held in Mumbai from April 14-16, 2016

 The Dollar Business Bureau

In a move to enhance the existing potential of the Indian maritime industry, the Government of India aims to bring in more investment into the sector. And to achieve it, the Ministry of Shipping is gearing up for the upcoming Maritime India Summit 2016, where it intends to woo investors by presenting before them various shipping and port related projects. Speaking about the Summit, the Union Minister of Shpping, Nitin Gadkari said, “Projects in the ports and shipping sector, worth an investment of Rs.1,20,000 crore will be showcased before potential investors at the Maritime India Summit to be held in Mumbai from April 14-16, 2016.” The Minister said this in an address to the media on Thursday, on the occasion of Media Launch of Maritime India Summit, 2016.  Revealing the government’s intention to create more employment opportunities in maritime sector, Gadkari informed that one crore jobs – 40 lakhs direct and 60 lakh indirect -have been identified to be created in 27 port based industrial clusters, coastal shipping and inland waterways under the Sagarmala project. Speaking about infrastructure concerns in the sector, the Minister pitched the need for substantial reduction of transportation costs through development of coastal shipping and inland waterways, to reduce logistic costs (around 18% currently) and make Indian products cost-effective for exports. Gadkari further informed about the major initiatives taken by the government for development of maritime sector by way of introduction of new ports at Wadhavan, Enayam (near Colachel) and Sagar with an investment of Rs.20,157 crore. In addition, 27 projects with an investment of Rs.12,696 crore, adding a capacity of 116 MTPA, have been awarded in 2015-16, which include JNPT road connectivity (Rs. 2,787 crore), Kandla container terminal (Rs.263 crore), Paradip LPG Terminal (Rs.690 crore), among others. Besides, 15 projects worth Rs.6879 crore are to be added before March 31, 2016, the Minister added. In total, “32 projects with an investment of Rs.4351 crore and capacity of 70 MTPA have been completed in 2015-16, while 46 projects with investment of Rs.28,040 crore with capacity of 307 MTPA are under implementation,” he revealed. The Minister had met Ambassadors of all maritime nations, seeking their active participation in the summit. The highlight of the summit is the participation of Republic of Korea as a partner country, said Rajive Kumar, the Shipping Secretary, when speaking to the media on the launch of the Summit.  

March 14, 2016 | 02:10pm IST

The Dollar Business Bureau - Mar 14, 2016 12:00 IST