Shipping Ministry moots company for port connectivity projects

To boost the port-rail connectivity projects, the Ministry of Shipping is considering plans to set up a new company to undertake rail projects at all government ports. All the major ports in India will have equity participation in the new company. The mandate for this company would be to undertake not only all new rail projects connecting to various major ports but also the existing rail line operations within the port area. The initial authorised capital will be Rs 100 crore. As of now, all such projects are implemented by forming special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. This move has been undertaken considering the fact that most of the projects under this model are in delayed mode leading to port congestion.