Mumbai: Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said he has asked state-run Shipping Corporation of India to scout for used LNG ships in the international market, which will help in transportation of the fuel till the country starts building such vessels indigenously.
"I have given orders to SCI to find second hand ships. For the transport of LNG, we can give services to them (SCI)," Gadkari told reporters in Mumbai.
Gadkari said that the state-run Cochin Shipyard has entered into a joint venture with South Korean company Samsung for getting the technological know-how for manufacturing the very large LNG carriers.
However, manufacturing such a vessel indigenously will take around 5-6 years, he added. He said the contract with SCI for deploying the used Liquefied Natural Gas carriers can be done for 6-7 years till the time the locally-made vessels come up and added that he will be talking to Petroleum Ministry.
Gadkari said a decision on the same will be taken at the "highest level", after a meeting between the Prime Minister, Petroleum Minister and himself, but stressed that he is all for the "Make in India" programme.
It can be noted that Gas Authority of India (GAIL) had floated a tender to acquire nine such ships at an estimated Rs 15,000 crore. In last few months, especially after launch of the Government's 'Make in India' initiative, calls for building some of these nine vessels locally, have been rising.
In order to make this possible, some bankers had demanded a Ship Building Fund, but there was no such announcement in the budget. When asked about financing, Gadkari in Wednesday claimed it is not a worry.
"Finance is not a problem. When I am speaking, there is no financial problem. I am not dependent on any finance ministry, we know how to raise finance," he said.
Gadkari on Wednesday said that the government is keen to build five new ports, but declined to give details on the award of private port projects this fiscal. Additionally, it will be soon starting multi-modal hubs in identified cities along the river Ganga and has also identified five more rivers for development of inland waterways including Brahmaputra, Mahanadi and Buckingham Canal.
Gadkari said for repairs of vessels, the Cochin Shipyard will be given dry dock facilities in Guwahati, Kandla, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Eventually, the plan is to have inland waterway systems in over 100 rivers to up the share of water transport in the economy from the dismal 3.3 per cent at present, he said.
As part of the strategy of building satellite ports for major ports, the ministry is mulling to have such projects in Jalna and Wardha in Maharashtra, he said. The ministry is also planning to open up over 1,000 islands across the country for private development for tourism, and is also keen to leverage the tourism potential of over 300 lighthouses across the country, he said.
For the ambitious 'waterbus' initiative, efforts are underway to build such vehicles in Cochin which will be
cheaper alternatives for the Hovercrafts and Catamaran, he said, adding that one permission from an international body is pending.
On the corporatisation of major ports, which was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitely in the budget, Gadkari said there is a proposal before the Union Cabinet but clarified that this does not tantamount to selling them off to private hands.
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