Speaking at the Session on Ports and Shipping, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport & Highways & Shipping, Government of India, emphasized the need to reduce logistics cost, which would be imperative for the success of Make in India initiative. The session was organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, as part of the Make in India Week being held in Mumbai.

He apprised the participants that lot of initiatives including mechanization, modernization and capacity addition have already been undertaken in the Port sector with a massive investment of Rs. 80,000 crore. Similarly an Indian Port Rail Company has been established with a thrust on rail road connectivity. He informed the participants that 3 new ports i.e. Vadhavan (Maharashtra) with draft of 18 mtrs , Sagar (West Bengal) with draft of 14.5 mtrs and Kolachel (Tamil Nadu) with draft of 18.5 mtrs are being developed. 

The focus also rightly has been on developing Inland Waterways which is globally recognized as fuel efficient, cost effective and environment friendly mode of transport.  On the river side Ganga, the ministry is already building three multi-modal hubs at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Haldia in West Bengal. Another important initiative has been to include Shipbuilding under the Infrastructure sector list which undoubtedly would give a boost to it. Work is also underway to use LNG as bunker fuel which would reduce the overall cost for the sector, he deliberated. He requested and invited the private sector to come forward to develop Cruise Tourism, Light Houses and Islands which would spur tourism in these important areas.

Mr Amitabh Verma, Chairman, Inland Waterway Authority of India began with a brief historical background to the Inland waterways structure in India, emphasizing that one of the reasons for it not being optimally tapped was due to the focus of post Independent governments on speed – which led to higher allocations in roads and railways development. He briefed the gathering on various government initiatives being undertaken to develop waterways. Actual construction work has already begun in 4 civil structures along the river Ganga. He also highlighted the government’s recent assured depth contracts along the Farakka – Bhagalpur stretch as well as on the Bramhaputra.

Identifying critical areas of possible investment opportunities/partnerships and joint ventures he mentioned, dredging activities, hydrographic surveys, cruise operations, barge operations as well as training and capacity building in these areas as critical to push and optimize the untapped potential of Indian Inland waterways.  

17 February 2016
Mumbai