GANDHINAGAR : At the 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS), the biennial gathering by Government of Gujarat, Gujarat Maritime Board conducted a seminar on “Port Led Development & Strategies to establish India as the Transhipment hub of Asia” on 18th January, 2019.

The event was graced by Shri Nitin Patel, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat and had special addresses by Shri R C Faldu, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries, Transport, Government of Gujarat, Dr J N Singh, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat and Smt. Sunaina Tomar, IAS, Principal Secretary, Ports and Transport Department, Government of Gujarat.

Registrations for the seminar received overwhelming response with over 5000 requests for registrations from the maritime fraternity as well as from the wider industry of India and abroad.

Important stakeholders like industrial leaders and speakers of global repute addressed the audience on topics of critical relevance, especially when the nation is at the cusp of a maritime revolution. Prof G. Raghuram, Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, laid out the theme and focus of the seminar. He also spoke about the impact of geo-political developments on Indian port sector in the inaugural session. Shri Sanjay Bhatia, IAS, Chairman, IPA chaired the first session on “Establishing India as the Transhipment Hub of Asia through Port led development and Coastal Shipping”, which had speeches from international speakers like Mr. Alexander Philipsen (Business Manager – Containers) from the Port of Rotterdam, Professor Shuo Ma (Vice President – International) from the World Maritime University and Mr. Biju Ninan Oommen (Senior Port & Maritime Transport Specialist) from the World Bank. The discussions delved on challenges being faced in port led development and how the nation could leverage on the various opportunities to transform and establish itself as the transhipment hub of Asia with special emphasis on promotion of Coastal Shipping as the preferred mode of cargo transportation.

Shri Anant Swarup, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India chaired the second session which deliberated on “Multimodal Logistics: Enabling Hinterland Integration and Improved Port Connectivity”. This session also had participation of international and national speakers of repute. Mr. Patrick Everts (General Manager), Maritime Excellence Centre, KOTUG based out of the Netherlands, Mr. Anoop Agrawal (Managing Director) of Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd and Capt. S R Patnaik (Director & CEO), International Shipping & Logistics, FZE based out of Dubai deliberated on the importance of hinterland connectivity and Multimodal Logistics for the maritime sector along with application of new technologies to achieve seamless Multimodal Logistics network. This session also saw the industry experts like Mr. Keld Pedersen (Managing Director), APM Terminals who operates the first Private Port of the Country – Pipavav, Mr. G J Rao (Director), Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd, the developers of the largest private port at Mundra and Mr. Rahul Singh (Managing Director), Shell Hazira Port Pvt. Ltd. shared their perspective on the various existing and future opportunities available in Gujarat’s port and maritime sector.

Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has always played an instrumental role in attracting private sector investment and facilitating large scale projects to maintain a high growth trajectory in the port and maritime sector in Gujarat, as witnessed in the past editions of Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Keeping the tradition alive, GMB, in this 9th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, has received 96 Investment Intentions (with intended investment of about INR 35276 cr) and 30 Strategic Partnerships, thus, recording a total of 126 partnerships in the ports and port-based sector. In this edition, the focus has been on creation of new port capacity, development of Ro-Ro & Cruise terminals and promotion of marine tourism within the State.

Out of total 126 partnerships, 26 intents (21%) pertains to new port capacity creation, 13 intents (10%) pertains to development of shipbuilding and ship repair facilities, 14 intents (11%) pertains to development of Ro-Ro & Cruise Terminals, operating ferry service and promoting marine tourism in the state.

The seminar also witnessed Gujarat Maritime Board sign 13 MOUs (with an intended investment of INR 19542 cr) amidst a special ceremony organized during the seminar in presence of Shri Nitin Patel, Deputy Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat.

In terms of new port capacity creation, GMB has signed MOUs with Adani Group which intends to develop a cargo handling terminal for petrochemical complex at Mundra and a captive jetty for their cement plant at Lakhpat; Essar Group which intends to develop a LNG terminal and port based smart city in Hazira; Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd which intends to develop a dedicated jetty along with storage/dispatch terminal for LPG product at Dahej and Foresight Group intending to develop CNG import facility in Gujarat. GMB has signed a MOU with HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd which intends to develop a Single Point Mooring & Crude Oil Terminal at Mandvi. It is worthy to mention that Rajasthan despite being a landlocked state has shown interest in setting up a port facility, which is generally available to only coastal states.

In terms of port expansion projects, GMB has signed MOUs with Petronet LNG Limited, Gujarat Chemical Port Terminal Company Limited and Dahej Harbour & Infrastructure Limited.

In terms of foreign sector participation, GMB has signed a tripartite MOU with Port of Amsterdam and J M Baxi & Co. for developing four Cruise Terminals at Mandvi, Dwarka, Porbandar and Veraval, marking a new dawn for developing cruise tourism in the State. GMB has also signed MOU with Adani Group and Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd (APM Terminals Pipavav) for developing Ro-Ro terminal in the State – a revolutionary step in transportation and logistics.

The ceremony also witnessed GMB signing MOUs with Eagle Rail Container Logistics for setting up smart, intelligent container handing at multiple GMB Ports; Marine Emergency Response Centre Pvt Ltd for setting marine emergency response system, Pollution Control & Response Centre and offering ETV (Emergency Towing Vessel) Support and Nirma Ltd for developing a captive jetty at Bhavnagar.