Considering the progress gained and potentials witnessed in the sector, the Shipping Ministry has set an ambitious target to award more than 35 ventures amounting more than Rs13,700 crore. The Ministry also plans to add about 259 million tonnes capacity by this year.
However, the Ministry unlike last fiscal will be more focused towards investing in port infrastructure and connectivity projects rather than capacity augmentation projects. According to the officially disclosed information, the Ministry has outlined 23 projects worth Rs5,202 crore on priority basis and the rest has been marked as standby projects.
In addition, aiming to address the prolonged demand for enhancing cargo handling capacity and demand for deep drafts, the ministry is also planning to award a total of 17 public-private partnership projects (PPP) worth Rs10,277 crore. The project involves Rs1,758 crore Diamond Harbour container terminal at Kolkata Port, Rs681 crore deep draught iron ore berth at Paradip Port and the Rs2,496 crore additional liquid terminal at JNPT.
