Indian ports aims to go global

Increasing market share and low dependence on the home market are some of the reasons companies are looking to go overseas. Cheap labour and easy access to raw material are some of the other advantages companies are looking to go global. Additional advantages include expansion of brand equity and increase in shareholder value.         Several factors differentiate Indian ports from the global ones. The government run major ports operate under one set of rules whereas private ports are governed by a different set of regulations owned by the state governments. Further regulatory issues and dichotomy in the tariff structure also exist. Though India has a rich heritage and talent and experience to create a port company, going global should not be a priority. The focus should be mainly on improving services in India rather than trying to offer services to others. Apart from upgrading existing facilities, the country should create additional domestic capacities to meet the expected demand. Additionally, there is a huge investment opportunity in dredging. The creation of new ports, use of larger vessels, increased focus on coastal shipping and inland water transportation will result in huge demand for both capital and maintenance dredging. Earlier the government had estimated that dredging at the major ports alone could cost over Rs. 6,000 crore over a period of five years ending March 2012. Most of these projects, including the channel dredging at JN Port (over Rs.1000  crore), are yet to be taken up. The government wants major ports with cash surpluses to invest in a corpus to meet the port sector’s global ambitions. The same ports are seeking private and foreign investments to create additional capacities

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