Four more Ro-Ro services from Mumbai likely in next 18 months

MUMBAI - After the success of the Ro-Ro (roll on-roll off) service between Mumbai and Mandwa, four more services are expected to take off to Mora, Kashid, Dighi and Revas in the next 18 months. The announcement was made on Tuesday after ameeting between ChiefMinister Eknath Shinde and Union Ports, Shipping and WaterwaysMinisterSarbanandSonowal.

The projects are at various stages of the bidding and will be implemented with equal funding by the Centre and thestategovernmentunderSagarmalascheme.

Amit Saini, Chief Executive Officer, Maharashtra Maritime Board, said, “After we got a good response to the Mumbai-Mandva Ro-Ro service launched in September 2020, several operators came forward for more such services.Wealsowantedtoimprovewaterconnectivity.”

The tendering for these four projects is at various stages and “we expect to start at least three of them in the next one-and-a-half years”, he said. “The three services from Mumbai to Mora, Kashid and Dighi collectively cost aroundRs.200crore.”

The state government also requested the Centre for a pavilion of Maharashtra at National Maritime Heritage Complex in Gujarat’s Lothal which will be built at an estimatedcostofaroundRs.2,000crore.

“We expect the pavilion to exhibit the paintings related to the fleet of warships used in the era of Shivaji Maharaj. The State Government will help it in every possible manner,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is quoted to have said.

The State and Central Government officials also discussed the reduction in VAT on bunker fuel. It has been demanded by the operators of passenger boat services. There was also a demand for the modernisation of passengerboats.

“It was a preliminary discussion and the boat owners have been directed to give a proposal for the upgradation of vessels. A call will be taken by the Government. The reduction in VAT on bunker fuel will help bring down the operation cost of these waterways’ services,” an official fromMantralayasaid.

Haifa Port is going to be Adani Ports’ biggest revenue generator outside India

HAIFA:Israel’sstrategicHaifaPort will be Adani Ports & SEZ’s (APSEZ) biggest revenue generator outside India,aseniorexecutivesaid.

APSEZ is also building an incubation centre at the port there which will be the biggest startup accelerator for the group, said the executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

India’s largest port operator is first focussedonthecitysidedevelopmentof the Haifa port, which would include the setting up of convention centres and hotelsapartfromtheincubationcentre, saidtheexecutive.

APSEZ is in talks with multiple partners including cruise operators to bolster tourist arrivals to the port, he added. It is also working closely with local municipal bodies to make the masterplan for city side development, he said. The company has 800 employees at the Haifa port including seniormanagementandportworkers.

APSEZ, in a 70:30 consortium with IsraelichemicalcompanyGadotGroup, had won the tender for privatising the port at $1.18 billion. It took over the port inJanuary.

Haifa is the second largest port and one of the three major ports in Israel. Apartfromoperatingcontainercargo,it is the biggest hub for tourist cruises in the region. Over the years, Haifa has becomeincreasingly critical forIsrael’s thawing political relations with Gulf states, which have led to it harbouring ambitioustradetieswiththeregion.

“Strategically it is very well located. It is the eastern most harbour in the Mediterranean. Everyone wants to do economic activity there. There are future plans to connect the Middle East to the Mediterranean starting at UAE and concluding at Haifa via rail route, which will connect Saudi Arabia and Jordan on the rail corridor,” said the APSEZexecutive.

Haifa port also is strategically located for transhipment of cargo through the Mediterranean Sea through the UAE to ports in Europe. It provides an alternative route to the current more expensive one that goesviatheSuezCanal.

“Right now, every ship sailing through the Mediterranean has to pass through the Suez Canal. Prices keep going up. So, when the port is modernised and the railway connectivity is developed, it will reduce transit time and make an alternate gateway to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and theUAEandtoEurope,”headded.

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Head of India practice at the Eurasia Group, said the alternative route and operations would increase efficiency of transportation by 60%.

Cargo railway lines are being planned to connect the UAE to Israel via Jordan and potentially Saudi Arabia, and Haifa would be integrated into the larger network. Last year, Chinese rival Shanghai International Port Group opened a containerterminaljustnextdoor.

APSEZ operates 13 ports in India and handles 24% of the country’s cargo. Earlier this year, it became the first Indian port operator to take over a Sri Lankan port.

Steel imports from Russia touch eight-year high in April-Jan

NEW DELHI - India’s imports of Russian steel rose to an eight-year high during the first 10 months of the financialyearthatbeganinApril2022, Government data compiled by Reutersshowed.

India, the world’s second-largest crude steel producer, imported 281,000 tonnes of steel from Russia between April and January, nearly five times higher than the same periodayearago,thedatashowed.

The rising imports are the result of a shift in Russian steel trade flows to Asia after Western sanctions were imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine last year. The change is displacing sometraditional suppliers, and domestic steel producers are raising concerns about potentially losing market share to the lower pricedimports

Moscow was the fourth-biggest steelsuppliertoIndiaduringtheApril to January period, emerging as one of the top five steel exporters to the country for the first time since the 2016-17fiscalyear,thedatashowed.

Between April and January, about 72 per cent of Moscow’s steel shipments to India constituted hotrolledcoil(HRC)andstrips.

Russia displaced Japan as the second-biggest supplier of HRC to India for the first time in at least eight years,thedatashowed.