Ports

The Indian port sector is presently characterized by 12 major ports and 187 minor ports, along its 7,517 km long coastline. The ports in India are the gateways to India's international trade by sea and handle more than 90% of the country's foreign trade by volume and 70% by value. The major ports are governed by the Major Port Trusts Act 1963, whereas the minor ports come under the purview of the respective state governments.

The ports in India are the gateways to India's international trade by sea and large-capacity ports with state-of-the-art facilities are essential for unhindered growth and progress. MARG Limited has realized the immense potential in this sector and has planned a number of marine infrastructure projects for the future that include ports, harbours, shipyards, and dredging and marine logistics. A successful venture into this sector began with the commissioning of the Karaikal Port.

KARAIKAL PORT
The Government of Puducherry (GoP) sought participation of Private Sector in the development and operation of the Karaikal deep-water port project, concession for which was awarded to MARG Ltd through a tendering process on a Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) basis.

MARG's initiative for port development aims to shoulder the increasing export and import needs of the country. Conceived on a BOT model, the port has a phase-wise development plan reaching a capacity of 47 million tons per annum on completion.

Envisaged as a deep-water lagoon-type harbour, connected to sea by an access channel and protected by breakwaters, the Karaikal Port will be able to handle large volumes of import and export traffic. Phase I of development, which was completed in April 2009, comprises two berths, one each for bulk and general cargo. An area of around 602 acres is covered by the port boundaries. The port is strategically located to cater to the industrial belt of Central Tamil Nadu.

The Karaikal Port project, a state-of-the-art all-weather port, is emerging as a successful example in Greenfield Port Development. Vessels carrying cargo ranging from coal, cement, and project cargo to fertilizers and sugar have been called at the port, which is now equipped to receive Panamax vessels. Karaikal Port is poised to be the most strategic and efficient port on the eastern coast of India and will unleash the economic potential of central Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

To know more, visit www.karaikalport.com

SHIP REPAIR YARD CUM MINOR PORT AT MUGAIYUR

MARG obtained in-principle approval from the Government of Tamil Nadu in February 2009 for developing a Captive Ship Repair Yard with a minor port on BOT basis at Mugaiyur, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu.

The facility will have drydocks, afloat berths and wharfs for a minor port. This gamut of facilities would serve ships sizing from Handymax to Capesize. The type of cargo envisaged is machineries, raw materials, agro products, containers etc. The facility would generate direct and indirect employment for around 10,000 people.

The project will go a long way in serving the repairing needs of vessels sailing on /to the entire east coast as there are no ship repairing facility that is currently available. In addition, it would generate potential for the development of ancillary industries. This would help in the development of the region, enabling inclusive homogeneous growth of the region.