The new land use policy for major ports approved by the Union Cabinet recently, has opened up new options for the growth of Chennai port and Ennore port, according to the heads of the two major ports.
The Shipping Ministry has unveiled detailed guidelines for leasing and licensing of land by the major ports in the country to optimise use of excess land and shore up their revenue.
Misra said land in major ports is at a premium in locations such as the Chennai port which lie close to the city and have limited options for expansion. But the previous regulations did not permit long-term lease of land to port users. This was a major hurdle in attracting investments to the port to improve efficient land use and operations.
Ennore port expansion Bhaskarachar said the 2,000-acre Ennore port is stretched to capacity and will soon get an additional 730 acres of Government-owned land from the Salt Department. The process is in the final stages. The new policy that allows efficient use of land will help the port maximise revenue.
Port administrations can take fast decision, tender out and allocate land within one-two months when needed.
Misra said the Chennai Port Trust has over 600 acres land, including 300 acres of water front area. But the port has surplus space with the ban on iron ore exports and coal cargo being shifted to Ennore port. It lost over Rs 250 crore worth of business annually in the process.
The port hopes to recoup the losses with new business. There is keen demand for space for handling foodgrains, fertilisers, tank farms and paved area for automobile exports.
Meanwhile, the land use policy is unlikely to have a significant impact on the Mumbai and the Jawaharlal Nehru ports.
Rajeev Gupta, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, the largest land owner in the city, said, “The port has only 70-80 acres of vacant land that can be used for commercial purposes. Of this, some part of land will be required for port’s own activities and the remaining can be used for leasing purposes.”
At present, Mumbai port earns Rs 120 crore by letting out a part of its 740 acres of commercial land to about 3,500 lessees.
The port is in the process of leasing out 12.3 acres of land, which is expected to fetch Rs 38 crore, Gupta said .
For JNPT, the impact will not be significant as its land use policy has already been approved earlier separately.
The 12 major ports in the country own 2.64 lakh acres of land between them.
To make land allotment process transparent, the Ministry has proposed tender-cum-auction process as the “most preferred” method of allotment.
Competitive bidding Under the new policy guidelines, the Ministry said land can be allotted only through licensing in custom bond areas by inviting competitive bidding. The land outside custom bond areas can be leased through tender-cum-action, it said.
Land outside custom bond areas can also be allotted on a licence basis, but it should be only for port related activities.