India one of the first large economies to have prepared a detailed green transition action plan for ports: Minister

Being built at an estimated investment of $10 billion, the Vadhvan port development will create around one lakh jobs during construction and over 12 lakh jobs once operational, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways SarbanandaSonowal said on Tuesday (September 3, 2024) while stating that the maritime sector in India has taken several significant steps towards decarbonising and digitising maritime supply chain economy over the last decade.

“We are one of the first large economies to have prepared a detailed green transition action plan for our ports, harbour crafts, and inland vessels,” Mr. Sonowal said. He was speaking at a curtain-raiser event, during which he also unveiled the logo for the dialogue ‘Sagarmanthan – the great oceans dialogue’ to be organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on November 18 and 19 in Mumbai.

The various initiatives, he said, have significantly enhanced the efficiency and performance of Indian ports, strengthened our national waterways, and enabled large-scale coastal employment and capacity building. In this regard, he referred to the greenfield mega container Vadhvan port, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 30. “This mega project has already received substantial global interest, including from Singapore’s PSA and Denmark’s APM Terminals,” Mr. Sonowal said.

Once completed, the Vadhvan port will make it three times larger than Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) with a capacity of 298 million metric tonne (MMT) and position it among the world’s top 10 ports, said P. Kumaran, officer on special duty (ER and Development Partnership Administration) in the Ministry of External Affairs. On ship building, he said that India can make a niche in the manufacture of defence ship building, ship repair and smaller vessels.

The result of the various initiatives, the Minister said, was that India today has become one of the largest markets and destinations for ports and shipping sector investments and this was reflected during the 3rd edition of the Global Maritime India Summit, which concluded in October 2023. “We received over $119 billion dollars of investment commitments.”

On the new annual dialogue, Sagamanthan, that was just launched, the Minister said it represents a crucial step forward in our collective efforts to address the challenges and opportunities associated with our oceans. “Our dialogue aims to churn ideas, experiences, strategies, and solutions and create a more sustainable and equitable future for the greater common good,” he added.