The Indian Ministry of Shipping unveiled plans to triple its exports of merchandise by March 2017. Part of the plan is to create seven new ports, as so far export growth has been limited by inadequate investment in infrastructure.
Freight handling is extremely slow in Indian ports compared with major ports in the rest of Asia. Severe congestion and delays are often reported at Chennai, while in recent months the Jawaharlal Nehru container port has also faced serious congestion.
Ports are currently being up-graded to increase the volume of freight which they can handle, but the government is dependent on private sector investment from major terminal operators.
The new ports planned by the Indian Ministry of Shipping will be situated in seven different maritime states.
The establishment of deeper berths for bigger container ships is an integral part of the plan. The world’s major carriers are investing heavily in ever-larger container vessels to use on the Asia-Europe trade lane, and India’s ports are currently unable to handle these ships.