JNPT to invest Rs 3000 crore on road connectivity project: Government

Jan 20, 2017: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is investing Rs 3,000 crore for improving road connectivity and also looking to finaliseRs 2,000 crore-dredging project, according to Shipping Secretary Rajive Kumar.

Kumar said the port is "investing Rs 3,000 crore for a road connectivity project. They are just in the process of finalising Rs 2,000 crore (for) dredging project and they are investing about Rs 1,000 crore within the port for improving both the rail and road network."

He also said that operationalisation of the fourth terminal will double the capacity of JNPT "that they intend to start phase I in early 2018".

Further, the official informed, the government is working to reduce cost of logistics for traders.

"We are looking at GST. We are also looking at roads having electronic toll collection so that the trucks need not stop everywhere," Kumar added.

However, he said, the centre would have to negotiate with state governments to ensure that reduction of other local barriers for smooth movement of cargoes. He was speaking at a function on 'Stimulating India's EXIM Growth - reducing the indirect costs of trade'.

Speaking at the event, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) A K Bhalla said that the country's exports are showing growth in the last three months. He said under the WTO's trade facilitation agreement in goods, India is bound to bring lot of reforms.

Under the foreign trade policy (FTP), the commerce ministry extends lot of incentives to facilitate exports under certain schemes, Bhalla said, adding "some of these schmoes are not going to be WTO compliant in the years to come where we crossed a certain threshold of GDP".

There is a need to reduce cost of logistics and its impact on trade, he said.