Page 8 - ITLN Nov-Dec 2022 For Magzter

Cover Story
Ports & Terminals
infrastructure that handles 95 percent
of its trade by volume and 68 percent in
terms of value. The Indian government
has been very mindful of the same and
it is evident in its launch of Maritime
India Vision 2030, Major Port Authorities
Act, PM Gati Shakti and very recently the
National Logistics Policy.
In fact, the Indian Ocean region is
under the limelight for some time now
due to its strategic importance and the
geopolitical developments it has been
witnessing particularly between India
and China. The maritime trade and the
ports located in this region are thus Containers that use the
crucial for not only the economic growth Direct Port Entry (DPE)
of the country but also its security. facility need 100 hours
India has a long coastline of about
7,517 km, spread on the western and less compared to the
eastern shelves of the mainland and the ones that come through
Islands. There are total of 12 government- a Container Freight
owned major ports and approximately Station.
200 minor and intermediate ports. The Unmesh Sharad Wagh
overall installed capacity of the major JNPA
ports in India has increased over 76
percent to reach 1,561 MTPA in Mar
2021, vis-a-vis 872 MTPA in March 2014. Sushil Kumar Singh, joint secretary
Moreover, the total traffic handled by (ports), ministry of ports, shipping
these major ports has reached to 672 and waterways (MoPSW), recently
MT during 2020-21. During the same called PM Gati Shakti a paradigm
time, non-major ports in India handled shift in the way India plans, executes
a total cargo throughput of around 580 and monitors projects and has the
MT, taking the total cargo handled by all potential to bring socio-economic
Indian ports to over 1,250 MT. change in the country.
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November - December 2022
He was talking at the two-day
conclave 'PM Gati Shakti Multimodal
Maritime Regional Summit 2022,’
organised by Jawaharlal Nehru Port
Authority (JNPA) and Mumbai Port
Authority (MbPA) in Mumbai on October
17 and 18, 2022.
While talking about the demand for
such a policy, he noted how he witnessed
some important infrastructure projects
lingering for years with issues like land
acquisition, environmental clearances
and other regulatory approvals as
somebody who spent substantial years
of his career in railways and has been
involved in many projects. “All these
agencies had their own unique ways
of dealing with the approvals and often
their priorities are not aligned with the
priorities of the proposing ministry.”
Talking about maritime logistics,
he said, “We have a large number
of capacity augmentation and
modernisation projects lined up as part
of Maritime India Vision 2030. As we
create capacity at ports, we also need to
strengthen the hinterland's connectivity.
We need to have a steady road, rail and
inland waterways connectivity with our
hinterland to ensure better access and
evacuation from the ports.”
With such a vision in hand,
according to him, PM Gati Shakti could
play a crucial role in streamlining
these projects. “Because it provides
information about the last-mile and
first-mile connectivity gaps. And it
helps us to plan and prioritise such
gaps. The scheme not only deals with
infrastructure projects but also helps to
reduce compliance burden, simplifying
the procedures and improving ease of
doing business.”
To take note of a pain point among
many, during the same event, Unmesh
Sharad Wagh, the deputy chairman
of JNPA raised the issue of delay in
the movement of shipments that pass
through container freight stations
(CFS), citing a study by the customs
on timelines. “In the export segment,
the containers that use the Direct Port
Entry (DPE) facility and come to our
Centralized Parking Plaza (CPP) need
100 hours less compared to the ones that
come through a CFS. On the import side
also, the time Direct Port Delivery (DPD)
takes much less time compared to the
containers that go to the CFS.”
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