All India Major Ports review meeting started in Vizag

All India Major Ports review meeting, chaired by Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari, was started in Visakhapatnam at Vizag Port. Two union ministers of State for shipping, Chairman and Deputy Chairman, of Kandla, Vizag, Chennai, JNPT, Mormugao, Port Blair, Mumbai, Kolkata, Paradip, Tuticorin, Cochin and Ennore ports, Secretary of MoS and other key stakeholders of the major ports are attending in the meeting. The main agenda of the meeting is to review the cargo handling operations during 2017-18 and targets to fix for the coming two fiscal years. The Vizag Port is hosting the meeting.

According to the sources in the MoS, during the meeting, the ministry and the key officials will discuss the key competition from the private ports. The private ports to attract more business offering special sops to the operators, however, the management of the major ports failing to reduce the tariff and to offer special discounts as the complete administration was centralized with the ministry. 

The management of the major ports has decided to reveal their troubles to chase the targets and asking the ministry to decentralize some power to attract the stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Shipping is also asking the ports to augment the present infrastructure and other shipping facilities on par with the private ports.

There are 27 items on the table agenda. During the day-long meeting, the Ministry wishes to prepare a document to finalize several long demands of the major ports.