Mumbai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first Maritime India Summit-2016 in presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel in Mumbai today.

The maritime industry evinced keen interest to invest nearly Rs.35,000-crore on future projects along the 1,600-km long coastline of Gujarat.

Mrs. Patel, leading a high-level delegation from Gujarat, comprising senior officers of the State Government and industry, held one-to-one meeting during interactive session with senior managements of Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ), Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), A.P. Moller Maersk, IL&FS, Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Swan Energy.

She made a detailed presentation on Gujarat Government’s proactive policies and incentives to explore huge opportunities of growth in the State.

Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, Chief Ministers of Maritime States of India, captains of Industry, and leaders of 40 companies of South Korea are participating in the summit. South Korea is the Partner Country for the first Summit.

Mr. Gadkari presided over the ‘Business Agreement Signing and Investment Intention Ceremony’. Gujarat, which is already known for pioneering the Vibrant Gujarat Investment Summits, got a fillip with port players collectively expressing their interest to invest more than Rs.35,000-crore in various projects in Gujarat.

Swan Energy is building a first of its kind, floating LNG terminal in India of around 5 MMTPA LNG handling capacity at Jafrabadin Gujarat. The terminal is being built in association with M/s Exmar NV of Belgium. M/s Shapoorji Pallonji Group promoted Simar Port Pvt. Ltd. (SPPL) is constructing a greenfield port at Chhara with a planned capacity of 10 MMTPA. SPPL has also proposed to develop a LNG terminal in association with Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. at Chhara. Progress of the port development, as well as matters related to issuance of the LOI vis-à-vis LNG terminal development were discussed during the meeting.

IL&FS, which is already a major participant in the ambitious GIFT City project of the Government of Gujarat, has also expressed interest in partnering with the state’s initiative of developing a commercial services maritime cluster in the state. Incidentally, GIFT is one of the probable locations identified for setting up the Maritime Cluster in Gujarat.

Mr. Yaduvendra Mathur, CMD, EXIM Bank of India, was also part of the Gujarat delegation, and presented the ways in which favorable finance could be provided by EXIM Bank to maritime industry players wishing to invest or expand operations in Gujarat. EXIM Bank has also been requested to open up an office in the maritime cluster which in turn can help develop Gujarat as a maritime finance hub in view of the fact that many players in the ports and shipping industry would be targeted to open up offices in the cluster.

Prominent amongst these were the agreements signed with IL&FS, Simar Port Pvt. Ltd., M/s Om Sai, and a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Ministry of Shipping, and the Indian Ports Association. IL&FS announced its intention to develop a complete integrated maritime complex at Nana Layja in Kutch, at a potential investment of Rs.10,049-crore. Simar Port Pvt. Ltd. (SPPL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), promoted by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, was granted a Letter of Intent (LOI) by GMB for development of the LNG Terminal at Chhara Port, in association with HPCL, under sub – concession agreement. The LNG terminal with regasification and storage facility is planned to be developed at an investment of Rs.4,500-crore, while the Bulk Cargo terminal at Chhara is pegged at an investment of Rs.3,500-crore by SPPL.

Via competitive bidding, GMB has selected M/s Om Sai to develop a private jetty at Port Victor. In continuation of project development, GMB signed an agreement with M/s Om Sai for jetty development. The jetty is planned to support coastal movement of cargo from the Port Victor, thereby helping both the state and central government achieve their vision of higher share of coastal shipping in the country. Coastal shipping currently accounts for only 6% share in India’s transport modal mix. While Gujarat, currently commands a 22% share amongst all Indian states in coastal shipping, the state is actively working on more such initiatives to maintain its leadership position in coastal shipping of commodities.

GMB officials informed that two major port expansion projects: Expansion of Pipavav port with an investment of INR 1850 Crore and Mundra port expansion at an investment of INR 7600 Crore were also announced at the summit. Mundra port, which is already India’s leading private port, now intends to expand its container port facilities, and also develop a LNG regasification and storage terminal. RIL announced its intention to develop a sixth oil berth at Sikka, indicating that the company is bullish on it future crude oil refining prospects.

Keeping in mind Gujarat’s strategic location, two defense establishment projects were also announced during the summit. Indian Coast Guard plans to invest INR 100 Crore in developing a dedicated jetty at Porbandar and Okha, while the Indian Navy would be investing INR 200 Crore in developing a breakwater and jetty at Porbandar. The projects would reinforce India’s coastal defense mechanism on the west coast.

On this occasion, GPIDCL also announced that Southampton Solent University has expressed an interest sign MoU with GMB for the proposed Gujarat Maritime University. Southampton Solent University, with more than 19,000 students has a dedicated ‘School of Maritime Science and Engineering’. Its maritime courses have been ranked among the best in the world. Apart from maritime engineering disciplines, the maritime school also has programs focused on Shipping and Maritime Business.

GMB has also participated in the three-day exhibition concurrent to the summit, and its aesthetically designed and informative exhibit. GMB’s exhibit speaks about the historical significance of Gujarat in India’s maritime industry, as well as the recent developments undertaken by the state in the ports and maritime sector.

– DeshGujarat