Sagar Island News

Under India's prestigious Sagarmala Programme,  415 projects, at an estimated investment of approximately  INR 8 Lac Crore (USD 120 Bln) , have been identified across port modernization & new port development, port connectivity enhancement, port-linked industrialization and coastal community development for phase wise implementation over the period 2015 to 2035. As per the approved implementation plan of Sagarmala Programme, these projects are to be taken up by the relevant Central Ministries/Agencies and State Governments preferably through private or public-private partnership (PPP) mode. As part of the Sagarmala Programme, 6 new port locations have been identified, namely - Vadhavan, Enayam, Sagar Island, Paradip Outer Harbour, Sirkazhi and Belekeri.

Based on the present traffic and cargo scenario of Major Ports, a Master Plan has been prepared for expansion of port capacity, which includes a number of new ports. Sagar Island (West Bengal):  Public Investment Board (PIB) has appraised the project subject to the condition that state Government shall ensure possession of the land is available to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)  or any other Agency providing road connectivity and to railways/agency providing rail connectivity. Projected Traffic is to be around 3.5 MTPA in 2020 increasing to around 27 MTPA in 2035. Enayam near Colachel, (Tamilnadu): Detailed Project Report (DPR) is under preparation. The Port is proposed to be developed under the Landlord model. Projected traffic is around 127.05 MTPA by 2030.

Expansion, modernization and up-gradation of Major Ports in India is an ongoing process to keep the ports abreast with new technologies and also to promote trade and cargo. 62 Public–private partnership (PPP) Projects with an investment of Rs.49,049 crore ($7.1 bn) are under implementation and operation. For the year 2016-17, 33 projects with an investment of Rs.9,845 crore have been taken up. Port Master Plans for 12 major ports have been prepared keeping in view the requirements for cargo handling till 2035. A total of 142 Port Modernization projects have been identified in the Master Plans. These identified projects will be taken up for implementation in phases.

The Shipping and Road Transport sectors in India have together spent a total of about Rs 4 lakh crores ($60billion) in the past two and a half years as they work towards building world class highways and shipping infrastructure in the country, says the Cabinet Minister Nitin Gadkari. While the Road Transport & Highways Ministry has spent about Rs 3 lakh 17 thousand crores to build a total of 14,594 Km and award 21,247 Km of National Highways, the Shipping Ministry has spent about Rs 80,000 Crores for various projects aimed at modernizing and mechanizing the shipping sector and making it more efficient. Talking about the ambitious Sagarmala programme of the Shipping Ministry Shri Gadkari said that it will bring about a major reduction of  logistics cost for EXIM and domestic trade.

Indian Government has given in principle approval to a grant of Rs. 515 crores ($77.4 Mln ) to make the development of the proposed Sagar Port project in West Bengal financially viable. This is part of the continuous efforts by the Ministry of Shipping during the last two years for the development of this port. A Special Purpose Vehicle, Bhor Sagar Port Limited (BSPL) has been incorporated for the implementation of the project, with Kolkata Port Trust holding 74% equity and the Government of West Bengal holding 26% equity. IIT, Madras has been engaged to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the port, involving studies for shore-protection, land reclamation and physical modeling for use of dredge material. The work of preparing the DPR is underway.

The last two years have marked a new high for the Indian Maritime sector, including the Ports as  the Ministry of Shipping is keen to develop the Indian Ports to international standards both in terms of efficiency and infrastructure. Rajive Kumar, the Secretary of Ministry of Shipping, said that “The Maritime India Summit 2016” - first global investment meet  conducted by the Ministry- saw very enthusiastic participation from more than 40 countries. 141 business agreements worth $ 12 billion (Rs. 82,905/- crores) were concluded during the Summit. He informed that the Port sector achieved the distinction of handling more than 1 billion tonnes of cargo throughput in 2015-16. The 12 Major Ports have increased their Operating Profits by nearly Rs. 676 crores as compared to the previous year.

Indian minister for shipping Nitin Gadkari has said port and shipping sector has potential to create nearly 4 million direct jobs and 6 million indirect employment opportunities over the next 5 years. Recalling Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s thrust on port led development, Mr Gadkari said his Ministry has drawn up projects with investment potential of Rs 1,20,000 crores, (US $ 18 billion) which will be showcased at the India Maritime Summit to be held in Mumbai from April 14 -16. These include 27 port based industrial clusters, promotion of coastal shipping and development of inland waterways as part of the Sagarmala Project. The Minister said there was an urgent need to bring down the logistics costs to make our products as well exports competitive.