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India is accelerating its drive to modernize rail connectivity infrastructure at major public ports in an effort to speed up cargo evacuation to and from hinterlands and alleviate landside congestion issues that have been a key contributor to the shift of traffic to privately-operated minor terminals.
In a press announcement, the Ministry of Shipping said Germany agreed to participate through investment and technology in port-rail projects worth Rs. 100,000 crore (roughly $15 billion) to be implemented by the Indian Port Rail Cooperation, or IPRCL. The cooperation deal followed talks between India’s Road Transport, Highways, and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and his German counterpart Alexander Dobrindt in New Delhi.
The meeting was a followup to a memorandum of understanding IPRCL signed with Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national rail company, at the “Maritime India Summit 2016” held in Mumbai earlier this year.
“It was proposed in the meeting to form groups with representatives of IPRCL and DB to identify areas of cooperation and potential projects, and also to identify cost effective new rail technologies that can be implemented,” the statement said. “This would help bring in foreign investment and cost effective, environment friendly, innovative technology for port-rail connectivity projects.”
IPRCL, a special purpose vehicle based on equity participation from major port authorities and Indian Railways, has been set up with the specific task to build, operate, and maintain rail and road infrastructure for transportation of freight to and from gateway ports.
Gadkari said the German delegation was also invited to join India’s ongoing efforts to develop inland waterways as part of a larger scheme to improve port connectivity under the Sagar Mala program.
According to a previous announcement, IPRCL has already been awarded contracts for 22 port-rail projects with a total estimated investment of Rs. 20,000 crore, including three projects at the ports of Vishakhapatnam and Chennai.
India’s major ports booked a 6.3 percent increase in container volumes in the first fiscal half through September.
Most notably, India’s merchandise exports increased by 4.6 percent year over year to $22.9 billion in September, reversing a trend in the opposite direction that started at the end of 2014 amid sluggish global demand, the newest trade statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry show.
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