Nitin Gadkari News

India has huge potential for enhancing modal share of coastal shipping and inland water navigation. The current share is only 7% unlike countries like China with 24%  and Germany 11%. India looks to tap this segment in a big way.The maiden coastal voyage of a vessel of Container Corporation of India (Concor) was flagged off by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping and  Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways.CONCOR is a public sector unit (PSU) under Ministry of railways. The vessel SSL Mumbai is sailing from Kandla Port to Tuticorin via Mangalore and Cochin. This is a unique example of multi-modal logistics solution through integrated rail and coastal movement.

Indian Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari Wednesday flagged off the maiden container mainline vessel at VoC Port (Tuticorin Port), opening direct shipping route to eastern countries.Calling the step a "gamechanger in container traffic of South India", Gadkari said that Tuticorin has the potential to become a "major industrial hub".At present containers from Tuticorin to Far East countries viz Malaysia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong are transited by the feeder vessels to Colombo where they are further connected to the mother vessel .With Mainline call being done directly at Tuticorin, there will be saving on account of the  transshipment cost. EXIM trade will benefit and there will be a saving of approximately 50 USD  per container as handling of container at Colombo will not be required.

Indian Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari has said that Blue Economy is very crucial for India’s economic development. said India has a strategic location in the Indian Ocean region, and on this basis, it endorses the growth of the Blue Economy in a sustainable, inclusive and people centred manner through the framework of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).He said, India is developing its maritime infrastructure as well as its inland waterways and coastal shipping through the launch of the ambitious “Sagarmala Programme” which will revolutionize maritime logistics and port led developments in the country.He further  said that India’s…

The 12 Indian major ports run by the state will raise the wages of its more than 32,000 port and dock workers and some 105,000 pensioners by 10.6 per cent beginning January 2017, according to a five-year agreement signed on Thursday."A new wage settlement agreement has been signed for Group C & D category of Port and Dock Workers in Mumbai in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping," said a press statement from the government.More than 32,000 Port and Dock workers and 1,05,000 Group C&D pensioners across all Major Ports will be benefitted from of this settlement.Shri Gadkari said, “As per the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, welfare of the people is the chief priority of the Government, and I am glad that Major Ports are becoming drivers of socio-economic change.

Nitin Gadkari, Indian Minister of Shipping will inaugurate five port projects worth INR  1062 Crores (USD 156 mln ) in Vishakhapatnam today (Friday). The projects to be inaugurated include upgradation of existing iron ore handling facility at Outer Harbour of Vizag Port. This would involve modernising and upgrading the 40 year old iron ore handling facility so that it can handle larger vessels of 2 lakh DWT with loading rate of 8000 MT/hour. Capacity enhancement would be to 16.20 MTPA from 12.50 MTPA. The work was awarded to M/s.ESSAR Vizag Terminals Ltd on DBFOT basis with revenue share of 31% on 14.5.2015 is was completed on 31.5.2018. The other projects to be inaugurated include Development Berths at the inner harbour of the port and Post Panamax Quay Cranes.

Indian Ministry of Shipping’s flagship program for port-led-prosperity ‘Sagarmala’ received the ‘Gold Award’ in infrastructure sector in the recently concluded 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 in New Delhi, recognizing the programmes’s contribution to India’s socio-economic transformation and it's role in propelling fast-track growth and infrastructure development. The Sagarmala Programme also received the ‘Order of Merit’ at the Summit. The Secretary (Shipping) Gopal Krishna shared the award with Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari. The Skoch Awards recognize leadership and excellence in accelerating socio-economic changes. These awards have become a benchmark of best practices in India in the fields of governance…

Nitin Gadkari, the Union  Minister for Shipping, India said in Dushanbe, that India is trying to make Chabahar Port in Iran operational by 2019. Gadkari was addressing the Indian Community at the inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre at the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe. He said the opening up of the Chabahar Port would make the CIS countries more accessible. Shri Gadkari also spoke at length about the efforts and initiatives taken by his Government in the last four years to bring qualitative change in the lives of people. He talked about the massive work being done in the infrastructure sector, with National Highways being built at an unprecedented pace of 28km/day.

Taking ahead the bilateral relations between India & Republic of Indonesia, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping met General (Retd.) Luhut Binser Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs of Indonesia, in New Delhi. Ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jakarta in May 2018, General (Retd.) Pandjaitan, who is on a 2-day visit to India met Shri Gadkari to discuss bilateral cooperation in the maritime sector between the two countries. The bilateral talks covered a wide range of topics including river rejuvenation, wastewater treatment, generating revenue streams from waste, enhancing shipping linkages between the two countries, developing ports and airports, training on light house technology and development of navigational aids.

India signed an MoU with the Republic of Korea (South Korea) on Mutual Recognition of Certificates of Competency of Seafarers. This paves the way for the two governments to mutually recognize  the certificates of  maritime education and training, competency, endorsements and medical fitness of seafarers issued by each other. The agreement was signed by Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and his Korean counterpart Kim Young-choon at a ceremony in Busan. Speaking on the occasion Gadkari said that the signing of the agreement will benefit both countries. Korea is a large ship owning nation. As of now, Korean entities own more than 500 foreign going ships, and  need seafarers to work on their fleet.

Nitin Gadkari, India's Union Minister of Shipping will be on an official visit to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) from today (9 April 2018). During the 4 day visit, Shri Gadkari will focus on taking forward the bilateral cooperation between India andKorea in shipping, ports, inland waterways, highways, river interlinking and infrastructure sectors. An Undertaking on Mutual Recognition of Certificate of Competency of sea-farers will be signed during the visit. Known for maritime technology prowess, Republic of Korea (RoK) had partnered with the Ministry of Shipping in the Maritime India Summit held in Mumbai during April 2016. This visit will further promote the bilateral cooperation.

Indian Union Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the Inland ferry services in the port city of Vasco in Goa. In his keynote address, the Minister said that while addressing the needs of the poor, environment and ecosystem must be given its due priority. To achieve this, all the stakeholders need to make a concerted decision and action. Nitin Gadkari said, India has about seven thousand five hundred kilometres of seashore which can help the development of the country while giving tourism the much-required boost. Goa owes its emergence as a tourism state due to its coastal belt. The tourism sector has very high potential for Investment and employment generation. The Minister said, use of waterways is economical, environmental friendly; and needs better utilization.

India's biggest container traffic handler Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has achieved yet another milestone in its ambitious journey to become a world class maritime hub when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the fourth container terminal, proposed to be developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 7915 Crores (USD 1.23 bln) on DBFOT basis. Modi arrived at the JNPT Helipad- accompanied by the Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways  Nitin Gadkari, the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis and other dignitaries. Modi witnessed a six minute Video presentation on JNPT and Fourth Container Terminal (FCT). Modi was briefed by Gadkari that the work has been awarded to M/s Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Pvt. Ltd.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will construct Intermodal Terminal at Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur and will be linked to both National Waterways-I (NW-1) or river Ganga and National Highway-19 - connecting Ghazipur to Patna - and help in movement of cargo, with options for both land and water transportation. Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari, will lay the foundation stone for an Intermodal Terminal at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh today (25 January). The intermodal terminal at Ghazipur will have linkage to both NW-I or River Ganga and NH-19 which is just 650 metres away. NH19 links Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh with Patna in Bihar.

Chabahar Port was very important for both India and Iran, and offered a win-win situation to both countries, Indian Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari said. A government press release said that Gadkari held bilateral talks with Dr Abbas Akhoundi, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development in New Delhi. He said the port would be a growth engine for India as it opened up an alternate route for exports to Afghanistan and Russia. It  would also open up business opportunities for investors of both India and Iran  to invest in each other’s country, he said. The Minister further informed that the two countries have sorted out all issues pertaining to the Chabahar Port in their discussions.

The major ports in India have recorded a growth of 3.64% and together handled 499.41 Million Tonnes of cargo during the period April to December, 2017 as against 481.87 Million Tonnes handled during the corresponding period of previous year. For the period from April- December 2017, Eight Ports (Kolkata (incl.Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Kandla) have registered positive growth in traffic. The highest growth was registered by Cochin Port (17.27%), followed by Paradip (14.59%), Kolkata [incl. Haldia] (12.45%), New Mangalore (6.60%) and JNPT (5.94%). Cochin Port growth was mainly due to increase in traffic of POL (24.10%) and Containers (10.79%).

Nitin Gadkari, Indian Union Minister of Shipping will flag off the first movement of cement cargo through National Waterway (NW) 2 on River Brahmaputra in Assam today,  under the Shipping Ministry’s flagship programme Sagarmala. He will also lay the foundation stone for bank protection work of Majuli Island tomorrow. Assam Chief minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, will also be present on the occasion. Marking a new milestone towards Government of India’s constant endeavors to promote economically more viable and environment friendly modes of transport in the country, two barges of 200 metric ton capacity each, will carry 400 tonnes of cement from the Inland Waterways Authority of India’s Pandu Port to Dhubri covering a distance of 255 kilometers.

Major ports in India have recorded a growth of 3.46% and together handled 439.66 Million Tonnes of cargo during the period April to November, 2017 as against 424.96 Million Tonnes handled during the corresponding period of previous year. For the period from April- November 2017, nine Ports (Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mumbai, JNPT and Kandla) have registered positive growth in traffic. The highest growth was registered by Cochin Port (17.93%), followed by Paradip (13.13%), Kolkata [incl. Haldia] (12.64%), New Mangalore (7.07%) and JNPT (5.69%). Cochin Port growth was mainly due to increase in traffic of POL (25.15%) and Containers (10.46%).

India government-owned V O Chidambaranar Port Trust (VOCPT) in Chennai created a new record for single day handling of cargo yesterday, when it handled 36,526 Metric Tonnes of thermal coal at the berth NCB-I from the vessel MV. Asian Champion. The previous single day record was 35,656 Metric Tonnes of thermal coal at the same berth from the vessel MV. Tentenc on 30.10.2016. Shri I. Jeyakumar, Chairman of V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust said that this Port is continuously striving to achieve improvement in performance and productivity in order to attract more volume of traffic. VOCPT is in the process of channel-deepening and breakwater construction project to help larger ships to call at the port located in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district.

A world class Center of Excellence in Maritime and Ship Building (CEMS) is being set up by Ministry of Shipping in collaboration with  Siemens and Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) under the Ministry’s flagship Sagarmala Program. CEMS will have  campuses at Vishakhapatnam and Mumbai, and will provide industry-relevant skill development, equip students with employable engineering and technical skills in the port and maritime sector and contribute to the Government of India’s ambitious Sagarmala programme. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation had announced this at an event in Cochin last week.

The Minister of Shipping in India,  Nitin Gadkari has said that Cochin is all set to become a global ship repair hub. He was speaking at Cochin, after laying the  foundation stone for a INR 970-crore (USD 148 million) International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) for Cochin Shipyard Limited. The facility is being built at Cochin Port Trust where CSL has leased out a 40-acre plot for the project. The International Ship Repair facility will be a State of the Art facility that can handle a major chunk of small and medium sized vessels plying in India. CSL will set up a ship lift system of size 130 m x 25 m with lifting capacity of 6000 tonnes and 6 work stations. The facility can repair up to 85 vessels, and CSL will thereby  be almost doubling the number of ships that can be repaired every year.

Major ports in India handled 326.4 million tonnes of cargo in the April-September period, an increase of 3.24% over the 316.1 million tonnes they handled a year ago. According to the data released by the ministry of shipping, seven out of the 12 major ports in the country recorded traffic growth in the first half of the current fiscal. Seven Ports (Kolkata, Paradip, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, Mumbai and JNPT) registered positive growth in traffic during the period April to September 2017. Cargo traffic handled at Major Ports: The highest growth was registered by Cochin Port (19.62%), followed by Kolkata [incl. Haldia], New Mangalore, Paradip with growth of about  12% . Cochin Port growth was mainly due to increase in traffic of POL (27.8%) and Containers (10.3%).

Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will lay the foundation stone for the development of Muktyala to Vijayawada stretch of Krishna River (National Waterways – 4) today (October 03) in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. He will also inaugurate approximately 415 km of National Highways projects worth Rs 1928.46 crores and lay the foundation stone  for another 250 km NH projects worth Rs 2539.08 crores. The Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N Chandrababu Naidu will also be present on this occasion. As per MoU signed with Govt. The Vice President will lay the foundation stone for Phase- I on 3rd October, 2017.

The Indian Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari will perform the Bhoomi Poojan (Ground breaking ceremony) the Wardha dry port at Sindi (Railway) in Wardha, Maharashtra on 2nd October, 2017. The Dry Port is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in a bid to cater effective logistics services to the industries in Vidarbha region and improve cargo throughput at the Port. The proposed Wardha Dry Port is to be constructed over an area of 350 acres in phased development with a total estimated investment of Rs 500 Crore. The Phase-I would involve development of around 25 Ha of the total area, with an estimated cost of Rs.180 Crores (including private investment of Rs. 79 Crore). The proposed dry port is estimated to generate traffic of almost 7,000-9,000 TEUs in next 5-7 years.