Coastal shipping and inland transport made massive strides

Coastal shipping from ports in Gujarat and inland water transport over river Ganges and Brahmaputra particularly from Varanasi have made major strides in the last few years, it was acknowledged at the meeting of ChintanShivir got up by the Port and Shipping Ministry at the Kerala’s hill resort town of Munnara few days ago

Cargo handled by Coastal Shipping has grown to 151 million tons in 2022-23 from 74 MMTPA in 2014, and through inland waterways to 126 million tons from 30 MTPA during this period, a statement issued after the meeting said. 

While exclusive berths were created in some major ports for handling coastal cargo without the need for presence of customs, massive investment has taken place along the river Ganges in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for creating infrastructure inland water transport. Cargo Terminals have been set up at Varanasi and Sahibganj in the Hindi heartland states since the present government came to power

The second day of the ‘ChintanShivir’ saw a session of some in-depth analysis and discussions on improving port administration, standardization and share of cargo handling in the Major Ports.

The Shivir concluded with a discussion on good governance, work culture and leadership.Ports Minister Sarbanandasonawal  said the Ministry would review the progress of the functioning of ports including their turn over with respect to targets set by the Ministry in the next few months. He also warned of strict action in case of delay in project implementation.