In a bid to augment the capacity of major ports, the government on Wednesday approved a proposal for licensing of land for development of projects under the PPP mode in these ports.
"The Union Cabinet today approved a proposal of the Ministry of Shipping for licensing of land to
the concessionaires for seven projects taken up in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here after the meeting.
These projects have been taken up in terms of the extant policy of the Government of India to pursue maritime development projects under the PPP mode, he said.
Chidambaram added that the step will facilitate the Ministry of Shipping in "augmenting the capacity of ports expeditiously through PPP and will also bring about efficiency in operations at major ports which will benefit trade and the economy as a whole."
India has 12 major ports-- Kandla, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Marmagao, New Mangalore, Kochi, Tuticorin, Chennai, Ennore, Vishakhapatnam, Paradip and Calcutta-Haldia.
Last month, shipping minister G K Vasan had said that the Ministry was working on formulating a new land policy for major ports.