Govt aiming to raise capacity of ports four-fold to 10,000 MTPA by 2047: Sonowal

KEVADIA (GUJ), Aug 19: The government has set itself a target of raising the country’s port capacity
to more than 10,000 Metric Ton Per Annum by 2047 from the current 2,600 MTPA, Union Minister
for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said here on Saturday.
The government will soon set up a Bureau of Port Security to upgrade security across all ports in the
country, he said at the 19th Maritime States Development Council meeting at Kevadia in Gujarat’s
Narmada district near the Statue of Unity.
“The country’s total port capacity will increase from existing around 2,600 MTPA to more than
10,000 MTPA in 2047,” a government release quoted him as saying.
Sonowal said the country’s maritime sector is poised for substantial growth with over Rs 10 lakh
crore worth of investment opportunities identified, with the opportunity to generate employment
for over 15 lakh youths.
“In alignment with this vision, the role of private players is being progressively augmented, with
public-private partnership (PPP) terminals currently handling about 50 per cent of the cargo at major
ports and efforts underway to raise their share to approximately 85 per cent in the coming decades,”
the minister said.
The government is working with a focus to enhance cargo movement on India’s national waterways,
which witnessed a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in the last fiscal year, he said. (PTI)