Union Ministry of Shipping Dr Vishwapati Trivedi attended the inaugural session of Portlore-2014, an event on ports, logistics and resources organised here on Friday.
Dr Trivedi said the performances of the Major Ports of the country have been sluggish during the last two years. He attributed the slowdown to global recession. The Ministry has prepared a vision document for 2020, which is also called ‘maritime agenda’. “It provides a benchmark on what we need to do,” he said. Stressing the need to expedite waterways projects in Odisha, Dr Trivedi said, “I am sure the NW-5 (Brahmani, Paradeep and Dhamra) will start operations soon.”
He said the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) has done a great job to resolve logistics issues with the help of railways. “In spite of sluggish performance by the Major Ports, the PPT has done exceedingly well in all aspects,” he stated, adding that one should visit the port to see how huge amounts of cargo are handled efficiently. State Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra said the State Government has offered support to the Inland Waterways Authority of India to develop the sector.
PPT Chairman SS Mishra said that with the coming up of minor ports, all the Major Ports have seen tremendous activity, specifically in the State. The Paradip Port, among the Major Ports, has ranked second position with a growth rate of more than 21 per cent and “we have broken down all our own records as on date; we are 59 MT in terms of cargo handling; we will be able to not only achieve the 63 MT but also cross it by at least 2 MT.