UK companies eager to develop Indian ports

British maritime companies seem to be making a beeline for India - a delegation of 10 ports and logistics companies from the UK was in Chennai this week to explore possibilities of investing in development of the country's ports.

In a seminar, 'UK-India partnership in ports and logistics', organised by the British Council in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industries, UK companies offered a variety technologies and services to the Indian port industry.

The companies represented included port operators, shipbuilders, equipment suppliers, security companies, engineering consultants, lawyers and bankers. Their main attraction is the government's planned spending on ports and connecting 'dedicated freight corridors' from Indian Railways. These are mostly to be created on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

R Dinesh, core group member of the CII institute of logistics and joint managing director of TVS Sons, said in his introductory remarks, ''Indian ports need more value-added services in areas like security and infrastructure facilities. The notion of a low-cost production or service centre is not sustainable. It will be efficiency and value addition that would matter in the long-run.''

Andrew Griffiths of BMT Baxter Eadie Ltd said his company was looking to complement the capabilities of its Indian arm BMT Consultants India, which is involved in port master-planning, design, logistics, ship design, and traffic forecasting.

''The UK port development industry has saturated now, with no need for more ports,'' said UK ports and terminals group chairman Gordon Rankine. ''On the other hand, India's national maritime development programme has earmarked Rs55,804 crore for 276 port-related projects, which are scheduled to be completed by 2011-12.''

The UK delegation emphasised the need for a logistics park to manage the volume of cargo that India handles. This would include a port, an air terminal, roadways, rail connectivity, and warehouses.

Rankine pointed out that five different logistics companies were already involved in port-related development activities in Tamil Nadu alone. ''We find the policy framework, which encourages any infrastructure-related activity and allows us to get involved in port operations in partnership with Indian companies, is favourable for investment,'' he said.

All European port companies are all looking at emerging markets now, and the most popular destination is the Middle East, said Rankine. ''The Indian government might need to put more incentives into port activities to attract those companies here,'' he hinted.

Mike Carrolt, who heads the UK government's trade and investment sector, told the seminar that the UK has largest maritime sector of any European country, and  is keen to participate in Indian ports and logistic development.

He added that British companies already have diverse partnerships in ports and logistics in several states, like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.