The Union Transport and Shipping Minister, Nitin Gadkari, today said that he wants to increase the share of water transport given the benefits of cost efficiency, environment friendliness and employment potential.

He said this at a conference on coastal shipping and inland waterways by Assocham.

“I target to increase the current share of 3.5 per cent to 15 per cent by the end of the five-year term of BJP government. Water transport has the potential to increase the GDP by 2 per cent and generate 5 million new jobs,” he said.

Gadkari also added that tenders on the three ports at Dahanu (Wadhwan port), Colachel and Sagar island (West Bengal), which will have 18 meter draft, are likely to come up by March. The project will involve an investment of Rs 18,000-20,000 crore and work on breakwater will start from April-May this year.

He also said that his ministry will invest Rs 70,000-80,000 crore in port-rail connectivity and full financial cooperation will be extended for modernisation, mechanisation and computerisation of ports.

He stressed the importance and under utilisation of water transportation in India. Logistics cost form 30 per cent of any product here and hence is partly responsible for lack of export competitiveness relatively, Gadkari said.

On the other hand, water transport is the cheapest means of transport given 25-30 paise per kilometre and even lower at 15 paise with new technology and change in fuel. The same thing by road costs Rs 1.5 and by rail it is Re 1.

India is the last country in the world to have least amount of passenger and cargo traffic using water as a means of transport. In China, passenger and goods traffic by water is 47-49 per cent, while it is 43-44 per cent for Japan and Korea and the same is around 40 per cent for Europe.

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