India, US to enhance cooperation in maritime sector 

The Dollar Business Bureau

India and the US on Monday agreed to enhance their engagements in the maritime sector, as the American ports evinced keen interest in India’s port-led development programmes, particularly the Sagarmala initiative.

The Sagarmala programme has identified 150 projects with a capacity to mobilize $50-60 billion for infrastructure-related investment and another $100 billion for facilitating industrial growth, in the domestic maritime industry.

Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, who has been on a week-long trip to the USA, held wide-ranging talks with several officials and explained investment opportunities in the development of new ports, construction of new terminals at existing ports and coastal economic zones, dredging, development of inland waterways and cruise shipping, building, recycling and repairing of ships.

Gadkari also explained the joint-venture opportunities with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to encourage technology transfer and enhance bilateral trade.

“The Shipping Minister outlined the regulatory assistance which the Narendra Modi government has offered to the maritime sector, including grant of infrastructure status to shipyards, supportive domestic eligibility criteria for Indian shipyards for assured ship repair orders, service tax exemption on ship repair service for foreign going vessels, setting up of ship repairing business immediately without any approval from Director Generals,” the Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.

Gadkari underscored that the present government will soon develop maritime clusters to provide industrial support and financial assistance to the domestic shipbuilding industry.

With the Sagarmala programme, the government envisages to reduce logistics expanses for domestic trade and EXIM with minimum infrastructure investments, while creating six million indirect jobs and four million new direct jobs.

“He told the US maritime sector that thematic studies and action plans have been developed across sector for implementation, prominent elements of which include coastal shipping revolution, coastal industrial Greenfield plants, reduced time to export container by five days and reducing cost to export by USD 50 per container,” the Shipping Ministry said.