Government gives a push to port-led development

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) under the Companies Act, 2013. SDC will be under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping. It will provide equity support to the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and funding support to the residual projects under the Sagarmala Programme. SDC will be incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, with an initial Authorized Share Capital of Rs. 1,000 Crore and a Subscribed Share Capital of Rs. 90 Crore. 

Implementation of the identified projects will be taken up by the relevant Ports, State Governments / Maritime Boards, Central Ministries, mainly through private or PPP mode, provide equity support for the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) set up by the Ports / State / Central Ministries window and /or implement only those residual p cannot be funded by any other means / mode. 

SDC will Identify port-led development projects and assist the project SPVs in project development and structuring activities, bidding out projects for private sector participation, putting in place suitable risk management measures for strategic projects cutting across multiple States / Regions and obtaining requisite approvals and clearances. 

Since the Identified projects will be undertaken by multiple agencies, SDC will also work as the nodal agency for coordination and monitoring of all the currently identified projects as well as other projects emerging from the master plans or other sources. 

SDC will undertake the preparation of the detailed master plans for the Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) identified as part of the NPP and provide a framework for ensuring the integrated development of Indian maritime sector. 

As part of the coastal community development objective of the Sagarmala Programme, the Ministry of Shipping is taking up a number of initiatives/projects. Notable among them are the coastal community skill projects and projects for development of marine fisheries sector. 

Skill development projects taken up' include coastal district skill gap analysis study/ cutting-edge skill training in the ports & maritime sector, safety training in ship-breaking & repair sector, coastal districts skill training as part of Deen Daygl Upadhyaya Grarneen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and marine fishermen skill development projects. 

Ministry of Shipping, in collaboration with the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture), will part-fund select fishing harbour projects under the Sagarmala Programme. While identifying the projects, priority will be given to those projects which are nearing completion. Ministry of Shipping is also preparing a coastal community development scheme, in convergence with the existing Central/State Government schemes. 

One of the important roles assigned to SDC is to manage the coastal community development scheme and fund coastal community development projects identified under the Sagarmala Programme. The projects considered would be specific time-bound local interventions and innovative in nature. 

SDC will be raising funds as debt/equity (as long term capital), as per the project requirements/ by leveraging .resources provided by the Government of India and from multi-lateral and bilateral funding agencies. SDC wi.ll also aim to increase the scope of private sector participation in project development. 

Background:

The Sagarmala Programme was launched with the approval of the Union Cabinet on 25th March 2015, with a view to achieve the broad objective of promoting port-led economic development in India. In order to harness India's 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways, and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes, the Government has embarked on the ambitious Sagarmala Programme which was approved by the Cabinet on 25th March, 2015. 

As part of the programme, a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the comprehensive development of the coastline and maritime sector has been prepared. The NPP has identified more than 150 projects across the areas of Port Modernization & New Port Development, Port Connectivity Enhancement, Port-led Industrialization and Coastal Community Development. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.