Baalu proposes Rs 100,000 cr investment in ports, shipbuilding

Kochi, Jul 16 (UNI) The union shipping ministry has drawn up proposals for more than 280 projects in the ports and shipbuilding sectors in the country, envisaging an investment of nearly Rs 100,000 crore, union Shipping and Surface Transport Minister T R Baalu said today.

Speaking at a function at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL) to dedicate to the country the 300 tonne Gantry crane and inaugurate the small ship development (SSD) bay, Mr Baalu said while there were 276 projects for the ports sector, with a proposed investment of Rs 55,000 crore, there were 11 projects for the shipbuilding sector with an investment of Rs 45,000 crore.

While the timeframe for the completion of the port sector projects was 2011, for shipbuilding it was 2025.

The ministry had also drawn up a National Maritime Development Plan (NMDP), which will be sent to the cabinet for approval, he said.

Stating that such huge investments needed public-private sector participation, Mr Baalu said the government was looking at the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model for establishing these projects.

Identifying infrastructure development as the key to realising the target of ten per cent GDP growth now set by the Prime Minister, Mr Baalu said the shipping and surface transport ministries would contribute their mite to achieving this target.

Talking about the government's plan to have two international standard shipbuilding yards in the country -- one each on the east and west coasts -- the union minister urged the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.

and other ports and shipyards to participate in the competitive bidding for winning these projects.

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