India to invest 7.6 billion dollars in new ports

India plans to invest 7.6 billion dollars to build seven new ports that will allow it to triple its exports.

Indian ports currently are congested and slow, especially compared to other major Asian countries. The average time for vessels in Indian ports was approximately 4.4 days in 2010 in comparison to only 6 hours in Singapore or Hong Kong.

Plans are underway to improve the capacity of ports and create new terminals. The Ministry of Shipping aims to triple the country's exports by 2017.

To carry out this project, the Indian government is counting on private sector investment and major terminal operators such as APM, Maersk and DP World. It is estimated that at least one third of the investment of $ 7.6 billion will come from private companies.

source : business week, middle east financial network, reuters