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Visakhapatnam Port Trust, which is on a massive modernisation drive to increase its capacity from 85 to 125 million tonne in next couple of years to become a world-class port, and other major ports in India have sought investments from Singapore.
The team led by Indian Ports Association (IPA) Chairman Sanjay Bhatia along with VPT Deputy Chairman P.L. Haranadh and top officials from the JNPT, Kandla and other ports during their recent tour of Singapore studied their facilities for container, bunkering and transhipment to explore areas of mutual interest for collaboration.
This was a follow-up of agreements signed at the first India Maritime Summit held in April in Mumbai. Investors in Singapore were apprised of the facilities available in the ports in India and areas where investments could be made to upgrade the facilities.
IPA has willingness to seek the help of Singapore for upgrading port connectivity system with higher version of software to ensure seamless connectivity with Customs, railways and other stakeholders.
Another important milestone was to seek consultancy on bunkering as Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore was well-known for its expertise in bunkering, Mr. Haranadh, who has rich experience in railways before his posting in the Visakhapatnam Port, said that they might seek the assistance from the Singapore Port Authority for improving bunkering business.
Singapore is one of the leading bunkering hubs in the world.
Stating that the cruise terminal operated in Singapore was quite impressive he said everyone had to learn from their success story in bunkering business.
The VPT Deputy Chairman said the purpose of the visit was to understand the best practices being followed in Singapore and try to replicate them and provide FDI opportunities in Indian ports.
Developing smart cities within port areas of Mumbai, Kandla and Paradip also figured in the discussion.
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