March 20, 2002

    There are 12 major ports under the control of Ministry of Shipping and all them are functioning smoothly. The Minor Ports are under the administrative control of the State Government concerned.

    The plans for development of major ports are included in the Five Year Plans of the Government for the Port Sector. During the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) the Government laid emphasis on creation of additional capacity so as to overcome the problem of congestion in these ports due to traffic in excess of capacities. As a result the total capacity addition in the major ports during the 9^th Plan period is expected to be 124.85 million tonnes, bringing the total capacity as on 31.3.2002 at the end of the Ninth Five Year Plan to 344.40 million tonnes. As the traffic to be handled by the major ports in the terminal year of the Ninth Five Year Plan is expected to be around 290 million tonnes, capacity is no longer a constraint in these ports. During the 10^th Five Year Plan (2002-07), it is proposed to enhance capacity and improve productivity with focus on measures aimed at modernisation, rendering cost effective services, enhancement of service quality, commercialisation through corporation and increased private sector participation in major ports.

    This information was given in the Lok Sabha today by Shri Shripad Y. Naik, Minister of State for Shipping in a written reply to a question by Dr. Sahib Singh Verma.