JOIN US“Convert Port trusts (minus excess land) into public listed companies with at least 49 per cent of shares held by general public,” the survey stated. It pointed out that slow evacuation of cargo coupled with congestion undermines competitiveness of Indian ports compared to global standards.
“Despite having adequate capacity and modern handling facilities, average turnaround time of 3.85 days during 2008-09, compared with 10 hours in Hong Kong, undermines the competitiveness of Indian ports,” it added. Coordination between rail and road networks is needed to ensure good connectivity between ports and the hinterland as inadequate linkage at present causes congestion besides slowing evacuation, it stated.
It also wanted an enabling policy framework has been put in place by the government. The cargo handled by 12 major ports registered a growth of only 2.1 per cent in 2008-09 against 13.9 per cent in 2007-08.