India has set up a consortium to develop ports overseas and looks to improve competitiveness of its own harbours to grow trade and widen its maritime footprint.
While the Chabahar and Sittwe ports in Iran and Myanmar have been built with Budgetary support from India and are run by the Indian Ports Global (IPGL), the government is building a new template in port construction and operations by forming a consortium.
“We are getting a lot of offers from overseas (to develop ports). We want to expand and make our presence strong,” the Union Shipping Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said on Thursday.
MoU signed
Sonowal witnessed the signing of MoU between IPGL, Indian Ports Rail & Ropeway Corporation and Sagarmala Development Company to form the Bharat Ports Global Consortium.
The move comes as India looks to counter China and deepen connectivity through India-West Asia-Europe Economic Corridor and International North South Transport Corridor among others. On the eastern side, the India Myanmar Thailand trilateral highway provides a land link to the Pacific.
When asked about the impact on Chabahar port following Donald Trump’s appointment as the US President, Sonowal said the port is performing well. “This year, Chabahar port is expected to handle one lakh TEU (twenty-foot equivalent),” said Secretary of Shipping, TK Ramachandran.
Sonowal also launched the ‘One Nation-One Port Process’ initiative to standardise and streamline operations across India’s major ports. The step aims at removing inconsistencies in documentation and processes that led to inefficiencies, increased costs and operational delays.