The expansion and modernisation of ports reigned supreme in the list of the government initiatives during the year 2007. Several developmental projects got underway at the major ports under the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP), which was unveiled by the shipping ministry in 2005. The year also witnessed significant growth in traffic and capacity at ports and also the growth in Indian tonnage. During the year, perspective plans were prepared for 12 major ports along with a consolidated National Development Plan.
As per the decision of the Prime Minister?s Committee of Infrastructure, the 12 major ports engaged international consultants for preparation of their respective perspective plans (business plans) for 20 years which would also include an action plan for seven years. This exercise forms the crux of the NMDP, and the plans have now been prepared for 12 ports. The National Development Plans are expected to serve as guides for the major ports in preparing their annual plans and undertaking various developmental projects.
Apart from this, during the first eight months of the current fiscal, ie, April-November 2007, the traffic handled by the major ports was 333 mt against 295 mt in the corresponding period in the previous years, thus registering a 13.13% increase.
A significant initiative in the port sector taken by the government in 2007 was the decision to set up a deep draft port in West Bengal, keeping in view that the Kolkata port being a riverine port, suffers from draft limitations. The project envisages development of a deep-sea port on the coastline of West Bengal with the facility to receive vessels requiring a minimum draft of 17 metres. The ministry is currently busy selecting consultants for the project.
The Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP), continued to hit the headlines in 2007 as well, as right wing parties like the BJP and VHP demanded that the project?s alignments be changed. The current alignment passes through Adam?s Bridge, which they claimed was the original Ram Sethu, created by Lord Rama to reach Lanka as mentioned in the mythical epic Ramayana.
Dredging work on a stretch of channel in Palk Strait by the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) was under progress when the controversy broke out during the middle of this year, and it had to be suspended in view of the order of the Supreme Court dated August 31 and September 14, 2007. Around 28 million cubic metres of area had been dredged since July 2, 2005, when the project was initiated. In the new year 2008, the sector would see the implementation of the NDPs as also implementation of the much awaited model concession agreement (MCA) for ports.