'K'taka 3rd in port projects under bidding'

After Gujarat and Kerala, Karnataka ranks third in value terms for projects under bidding in the ports sector in the public private partnership (PPP) sector as of April 30, 2013, according to a study titled “Port Developments in India” by trade body Assocham.

“With three projects worth over Rs 3,200 crore, Karnataka ranks third with share of about 40 per cent in value terms for the projects under bidding. However, there are no port projects that have been completed or are under construction in the PPP mode in Karnataka,” a statement from Assocham said, quoting the study.

Kerala has the maximum share of about 40 per cent with two port projects worth over Rs 5,500 crore under bidding as of the aforesaid period; one completed port project worth over Rs 700 crore has been put to service delivery under the PPP model, while two projects worth over Rs 6,200 crore are under construction.

The national secretary general of Assocham, D S Rawat said, “While 21 PPP projects in the port sector with a share of 52 per cent worth over Rs 43,000 crore are under construction, eight projects worth about Rs 14,000 crore with a share of about 17 per cent are under bidding. Of the remaining, one project is in the expression of interest stage (EOI) and one has been cancelled.”

Gujarat accounts for maximum share of over 50 per cent in value terms for the total number of completed projects in the ports sector worth over Rs 24,700 crore that have been put to service delivery under the PPP model, the statement said.

“The total capacity of India’s nine maritime states namely – Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu as on March 31, 2007 was about 228.3 million tonnes which was expected to add about 337.4 million tonnes during 2007-12 and the total capacity realized as on March 31, 2011 was 418.3 million tonnes thereby adding about 190 million tonnes during the first four years of the XI Five-Year Plan,” Rawat said.

He added, “Odisha is the only the second state after Gujarat which realized actual capacity addition of about 23 million tonnes from zero capacity during the first four years of XI Plan thereby by exceeding the expected capacity addition between 2007-12 which was about 13.2 million tonnes.”

“The ports sector needs policy attention as there not only exist severe capacity constraints and operational inefficiencies, but also certain models on how to address these issues,” Rawat said.

“There is an urgent need to modernize India’s ports as the existing ports are plagued with a plethora of problems like congestion, poor connectivity, accessibility and lack of adequate facilities,” he added.