Coast route to progress

The jaw-like curve on India’s map is turning its coastline into a lifeline. History has given Gujarat its place as a hub of trade across the oceans and now...

The jaw-like curve on India’s map is turning its coastline into a lifeline. History has given Gujarat its place as a hub of trade across the oceans and now, the state is set to dot its 1,670-kilometre with ports, terminals and cargo jetties connected by a mesh of upcoming railway lines.

Presently, there are three operational private ports in the state — Adani at Mundra, Pipavav and Hazira — besides Kandla which is under the Central Government. Another private port is being developed by the Adani group at Dholera. In the line-up for the next year are five industry-specific “greenfield” ports to be

developed on BOOT (build, operate, own and transfer) basis by the private players.

The Gujarat Maritime Board, which is the nodal agency for ports in the state, is short-listing proposals for five locations to feed industries and other developmental sectors — Maroli (coal, LNG), Simar, Mithivirdi (steel, iron plates and auto products), Vansi Borsi (for liquid chemicals and petroleum) and Bedi Bunder (agriculture). These would take up the number of ports in the state to nine.

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The joint ventures with private companies are expected to take off in January 2007 with the contracts to be awarded at the Vibrant Gujarat Investors’ Summit.

The new ports will open up to a vast hinterland towards the west and northern regions. In fact, Gujarat’s numerous ports would be the nearest point for export and import for manufacturers in the north. Also, with more than two dozen special economic zones (SEZs) coming up in the state, the ports are expected to serve their needs.

There is movement in the inland too. Railway lines are being laid to connect the ports to broad gauge towards New Delhi and Mumbai. The GMB is working on railway lines between Bedi Bunder and Bedi railway station, Hazira and Surat, Porbandar port and the railway station besides the Dahej-Bharuch gauge conversion for which a special purpose vehicle has bene set up with the Rail Vikas Nigam and private players. The Kutch Railway Company and Rail Vikas Nigam, on the other hand, are jointly converting existing railway lines from the ports to connect to the Palanpur junction which will further connect it up to the north.

Private companies have shown enthusiasm in the networking too. Adani group has laid a 51-km railway line from Mundra port to Adipur railway station. Another successful private project has been implemented by the Pipavav railway corporation, which has laid a 251-km railway line to connect Pipavav port with the Surendranagar-Palanpur railway line. “Rail and road networks connecting ports with main centres would provide upper edge to Gujarat compared to other states,” said Pravin Nanavati, president of South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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On the road, the East-West Corridor will run through Porbandar and stretches of the Golden Quadrilateral, also linking the ports.

Currently, GMB operates 41 “minor” ports where 108 million metric tonne cargo was handled in 2005-06. “With the completion of the current fiscal in March 2007, GMB ports are expected to handle 120 million metric tonne cargo in the state, the highest in the country in the minor port sector,” said GMB chief HK Das.

The Adani Mundra port has handled eight million metric tonne of cargo in 2005-06 while Kandla is expected to touch 50 million metric tonne by 2010. Cargo traffic, he said, had already gone up by 17 per cent.