India should accelerate port reforms to attract private investment and modernise operations while the public authority should be restricted to monitoring, according to Eddy Bruyninckx, CEO of Belgium’s Antwerp Port Authority.

“I hear the story of modernisation of ports for the last 15 years. Every time I visit India, there is plan to reform the port business. But let me say that it has been rather slow. Something can be accelerated and business people from Belgium will look at the Indian port sector,” he said.

Public authorities cannot be replaced. However, when it comes to port operations, leave it to the private sector. Provide land to companies on a concession agreement, he said.

“We can control and make sure that facilities are used in the optimal way. If not, we can eventually take the land back,” he said.

Port of Antwerp Authority, which runs Europe’s second-largest port, is keen to provide consultancy,and participate in development of infrastructure and equipment in Indian ports, Bruyninckx said.

The authority is even willing to share its know-how on a non-profit basis. It is not important to make money from consultancy but to make sure there is trade flow between India and Antwerp, he told Business Line at his office in Antwerp.

Tie-up with Essar ports

Last year, the authority partnered with Essar Ports to collaborate in training and consultancy services, port planning, traffic flow, quality and productivity improvement. “We can be involved with other ports, but will be loyal to the partnership with Essar,” he said.

Antwerp in Belgium is Europe’s premier break bulk port and achieves record productivity in container handling. It is only through acquisitions that Port of Singapore Authority and DP World Dubai became large terminal operators. “However, the actual know-how is in Antwerp and can be shared with Indian ports,” he said.

Bruyninckx believes that in future India will play an important part in the trade with Antwerp port, which could be the gateway for Indian goods to Europe and beyond.

For example, a shoemaker in Agra cannot ship the product to Frankfurt in 48 hours. However, if the shoes were stored in a warehouse at the Antwerp port in advance, whenever the order is placed, the shoes will be in Frankfurt in six hours. A lot of post manufacturing activities can also be done at the port, he said.

Every year, nearly 5 million tonnes of cargo are shipped between India ports and Antwerp.

The volume could be large if the cargo sent from India in containers through transhipment ports of Colombo, Singapore and Salalah are also taken into consideration, said Raj Khalid, Representative of Antwerp Port in India.

>raja.simhan@thehindu.co.in (This correspondent was in Antwerp at the invitation of the Antwerp Port Authority.)

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