Reforming the Indian Ports Sector

Maritime transport carries more than
nine-tenths of tonnage of world international trade. The
international shipping industry, competitive and dominated
by private companies, has delivered to trading nations
increasing capacity, generally improving service levels, and
declining unit shipping costs. To access and extract the
maximum benefit from this vital transport resource each
nation depends on the performance of its ports sector; not
only on the capacity, quality and price of port services but
also their connectivity to hinterlands and to the industrial
and consumer markets they serve. Ports in India, as in many
countries, face continued pressure to handle higher
throughput, adapt to larger and more specialized vessels,
improve productivity, and adopt new technology and
information systems that can meet the increasingly demanding
service standards expected by shippers, logistics companies
and shipping operators. As in all economic sectors, the
success of ports depends not only on investment in its
infrastructure but on supportive policy and regulatory
structures, and on the effectiveness of the institutions
that deliver services to customers. This Report contains an
analysis of the current status of India s ports sector,
identifies potential constraints on the ability of ports to
meet India s future development needs, and sets out a
recommended policy framework to increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of the sector.