AK Rakesh, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) informed that the organisation would develop a maritime cluster on the lines of such centres in Singapore and Dubai.
The regulator for all non-major ports and shipping activities in the state also plans to develop two port cities.
The maritime cluster approach, an important component of government policy in the US, the UK, Singapore and Australia, among other nations, is new to India.
Such a cluster incorporates interconnected companies, suppliers, service providers and firms in related industries.
Of the two port cities, one would be set up Mundra in Kutch district by GMB, while the other would be set up at Pipavav by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC).
Of the total cargo handled by ports across the country, ports regulated by GMB handle at least 25 percent. In 2011-12, GMB-regulated ports handled 259 million tonne (mn t) of cargo, or about 28 percent of the total 930 mn t of port cargo handled in the country.
In 2012-13, GujaratÂ’s non-major ports handled 288 mn t of cargo. The overall traffic at all Indian ports for the year was not immediately available.
About Rs 30,000 crore has been invested so far by private developers and GMB in developing infrastructure at Gujarat ports. In the next two years, the board would spend an additional Rs 15,000 crore, media reports indicate.
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