Upgrade port facilities: Deora

MUMBAI, Nov 24: Even though the actual cargo traffic in Indian ports implies a capacity utilisation of 125 per cent, the average equipment u...

MUMBAI, Nov 24: Even though the actual cargo traffic in Indian ports implies a capacity utilisation of 125 per cent, the average equipment utilisation is less than 30 per cent and the performance of ports on other efficiency parametres like average ship turnaround time and berth output is far below international standards, according to Murli S Deora, MP, and chairman of Standing Committe on Finance.

8220;Indian ports have been characterised by inefficient operations, low mechanisation and poor labour productivity,8221; Deora said at a seminar on Indian Ports 8211; Opportunities and Options8217; conducted by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry BCCI.

Deora said poor connectivity and lack of proper evacuation facilities has further aggravated the problem. 8220;Developing state-of-the-art port facilities would be of no meaning unless there is parallel and simultaneous development of supporting infrastructure,8221; he said.

Given the need to upgrade the capacity and improve efficiency and inadequacy of financialresources of the government, priovate sector participation is being increasingly seen as a viable long-term alternative, Deora said.8220;Cargo volumes in India are too low to support a hub, and bankers may be reluctant to risk their capital in such a venture,8221; Dr Hans Peters, maritime advisor to the World Bank said while addressing the seminar.

Cargo volumes and the kind of investment they would justify remained a contentious issue throughout the discussions. While there was agreement that volumes were rising, differences centred around whether more efficient operations or expansion of existing facilities would have a greater role to play than greenfield ports.

Delivering the keynote address of the inaugural session, Lalita Gupte, deputy managing director, ICICI, said that after telecom and power, ports was an area in which the institution intended to look seriously at funding opportunities. She also called on authorities to simultaneously look at better capacity utilisation of existing infrastructure, asthis would be a far more cost-effective way of increasing cargo handling capacity, especially in the short run.

Outlining the opportunities for the private sector, Hemant Joshi, executive director, Crisil, said that capacity mismatch was the single largest problem at major ports in India. For instance, while coal imports have increased dramatically in the last few years, fertiliser imports have declined from 8 per cent of total cargo to less than 4 .