India Plans To Achieve 10,000 MTPA Port Capacity By 2047: Union Minister Sonowal

Sonowal stated that the maritime industry has huge potential for growth and investment opportunities worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore have already been identified by the government.

The minister noted that the government plans to set up a Bureau of Port Security to upgrade security across all ports in the country.

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India plans to reach a port capacity of more than 10,000 Million Ton Per Annum by 2047, the country’s Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal stated on Saturday. The current port capacity of the country is 2,600 MTPA.

Talking at the Maritime State Development Council meeting organised in Gujarat, the minister highlighted the government’s plans to increase the port capacity. He noted that the Bureau of Port Security is expected to be set up soon with the objective of upgrading security across all ports in the country, reported PTI.

Sonowal stated that the maritime industry has huge potential for growth and investment opportunities worth more than Rs 10 lakh crore have already been identified, which will be able to generate employment for more than 15 lakh youths. For the same purpose, he added, the government is promoting private investors, as public-private partnership terminals handle almost half of the cargo at major ports at the moment. He stated that the government is trying to increase this share to almost 85 per cent in the coming decades. Notably, cargo movement in the country’s national waterways is being promoted, and it grew 16 per cent year-on-year in the last fiscal, the minister said. 

The minister was speaking at the 19th edition of the two-day council meeting organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW). The meeting aimed at increasing and improving the coordination between major and notified ports, state maritime boards, state governments, and Union Territories, and concluded on Saturday. 

Outlining the government’s plans to achieve the increased port capacity, the minister also shared the ministry’s vision to develop hydrogen hubs across the ports controlled by the central and state governments. “All the central and state government ports will explore the possibility of creating hydrogen hubs,” he stated while commenting that Gujarat’s Deendayal Port Authority already finalised MoUs worth Rs 1.68 lakh crore for the same, 

Sonowal also talked about the upcoming Global Maritime India Summit 2023 and informed that all maritime states and union territories will be participating in the event, to be held in New Delhi from October 17-19 this year.