10-05-2014, 02:43 PM
A PROJECT ON PORT INDUSTRY
PORT INDUSTRY.doc (Size: 190.5 KB / Downloads: 15)
Brief Introduction of Port industry
Ports connect us to the world. Goods we touch every day travel to and from one of hundreds of deep draft ports that accommodate ocean-going vessels. They are located in coastal areas, as well as on the Great Lakes and on inland river systems.
Ports are busy, dynamic transportation hubs that are constantly adapting to meet the demands of global trade. Ports are the nexus of business transactions for imported and exported goods. We depend on ports to increase international trade, to strengthen local and national economies, to provide higher paying jobs, and to increase our standards of living. Trade creates new opportunities for citizens in every country.
By virtue of their location, ports also serve as environmental stewards of our coastlines. Ports spend millions of dollars each year to minimize the impacts of port operations and development of their surrounding communities and natural resources.
Ports play another critical role in our communities as well. They serve as local economic engines, generating jobs and opportunities that allow businesses to flourish.
GUJARAT TOWARDS A WORLD CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE:
India is a land of enormous opportunities and it is the second fastest growing major economy of the world. From being a largely agrarian economy, it has emerged as one of the leading industrial countries.
Maritime transport is a critical infrastructure for the social and economic development of a country. It influences the pace, structure and pattern of development. India too has consciously built a port linked infrastructure over the last several decades thanks to successive proactive governments and sharp business acumen of entrepreneurs.
Maritime transport and maritime industry is and has always been a vital part of India. Peninsular India is blessed with a total 5700 kms of coastline. And more than 150 ports. India is a natural gateway. Its long coastline gives it a natural and favorable advantage to play host to foreign trade considering its location and connectivity. It is also near maritime outlet to Middle East, Africa and Europe. Situated on the western coast of India is Gujarat, the country’s principal maritime state. It is endowed with the longest coastline of 1600 kms. It has strategically located 41 large and small ports. Of which one is a major port, 11 are intermediate and there are 29 minor ports. Each of its port location has a lot of opportunities to offer. Earlier this state was famous in the western world as the mistress of the sea. India has six major ports on the west coast. Kandla is one of them.
Sectoral Overview:
India has around 12 major ports and 185 minor ports with a coastline of 7517 Km. The twelve major ports are Kolkata (including Dock Complex at Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore, and Tuticorin on the east coast and Cochin, new Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru at Nhava, Mumbai and Kandla at the west cost. India has the largest merchant shipping fleet among the developing countries and is ranked 17th in the world. The sector in India handles 95 per cent (in terms of volume) and 70 per cent (in terms of value) of India's external merchandise trade. The twelve major ports handled a record traffic of 383.80 million tonnes during 2005-06 for the period upto February 2006. Significant investments have been made on a Build Operate Transfer Mode (BOT) mode by foreign players such as Maersk (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai), P&O Ports (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai and Chennai), Dubai Ports International (Cochin and Vishakapattinam), and PSA Singapore (Tuticorin).
Non- Major Ports :
About 48 non-major ports are active and operational. These are in Gujarat (21), Maharashtra (8), Tamil Nadu (9), Karnataka (3), Andhra Pradesh (2), Orissa (1), and Goa (1). The rest are selectively operational and cater to local cargo requirements, passenger ferrying, and fishing operations.
The non- major ports handle around 26 percent of India's total port traffic. They carried cargo traffic of 145.36 MT in 2005-06, a growth of 5.71 percent over the previous year. A few of the non- major ports have been developed as relatively large ports (Mundra and Pipavav) through private sector participation and attract a fair amount of Cargo. These are comparatively newer ports with modern facilities and smaller, better-trained workforces, and thus score high on efficiency parameters.