The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is accelerating investments across ports, inland waterways, and shipbuilding as part of its Viksit Bharat 2047 roadmap, with Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directing officials to accelerate implementation of flagship projects while maintaining strict adherence to timelines. The review meeting highlighted significant progress, including India consolidating its position as the world's largest ship recycling nation and inland waterways cargo already crossing 200 million tonnes, achieving the Maritime India Vision 2030 target several years ahead of schedule.
The Ministry is pursuing one of the country's largest maritime infrastructure expansion programs, targeting more than 700 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of additional port capacity by 2030. This includes 306 MTPA at major ports, 193 MTPA at key non-major ports, and another 183 MTPA through mechanization, operational efficiency improvements, public-private partnerships, and capacity augmentation at emerging non-major ports. Specific flagship projects include Vadhavan Port (164 MTPA by 2030-31), Tuticorin Outer Harbour project (39 MTPA), and Kandla Tuna Tekra Terminal (33 MTPA by 2027-28).
Mechanization targets are set to increase from 76% in FY 2025-26 to 93% by 2030, while private sector participation through PPP projects is projected to rise from 44% in 2013-14 to 85% by 2030-31. The Ministry has also set a target of achieving 100% digitization across the maritime sector by 2030.
India's shipbuilding sector recorded strong growth with domestic output increasing 41% from 40,923 gross tonnes (GT) in 2024 to 57,637 GT in 2025. The average contract value per vessel has increased more than fivefold to ₹212 crore from ₹41 crore previously. The Government has granted in-principle approvals for greenfield shipbuilding clusters in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, each with planned capacity of 1.2 million GT, with similar approvals for Maharashtra and Odisha expected by August-September 2026. A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with HD Hyundai-KSOE for developing a shipbuilding cluster in Tamil Nadu, with 100% financial support for common maritime infrastructure.
Minister Sonowal emphasized the need to strengthen institutional resilience by incorporating lessons from global disruptions into future planning, noting that resilience is as important as growth in the evolving geopolitical situation.