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India Port Expansion and Capacity Upgrading Conference

October 21st & 22nd, 2010, Mumbai, India

MUMBAI, INDIA, 21-22 OCTOBER 2010 – India's future growth in the port sector is undeniable. Containerization of the market and increasing cargo throughput volumes are leading to very aggressive expansion and construction plans. At the end of June 2010 it was made public that the Indian Government is investing $12bn in ports within the National Maritime Development Programme. The premier objective of the government is to expand port capacity to 1.2 billion tons.

With support from the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), Indian Private Ports & Terminals Association (IPPTA) and the American General Business Association (AGBA), Noppen's India Port Expansion and Capacity Upgrading Conference, hosted in Mumbai on 21-22 October 2010, brought together over 70 government representatives, terminal operators, port authorities and solution providers to discuss the pressing question of how to develop India’s ports into efficient trade hubs. DP World “Conferences in India today addressing port development are needed”

Key speaker at the event, Capt Sandeep Mehta, CEO, Mundra Port, spoke about coping with increased capacity, from strategic planning to implementation. He had some surprising insights into Mundra Port’s expansion plans and execution. He believes that speed in execution is possible in India. DP World noted it was “useful to see how the private sector delivers very relevant information in today’s environment” and Port of Gheetapuram said “The aggressive way forward towards growth is important”. Antwerp Port, India Representative, Raj Khalid illustrated an informative and useful aid for capacity planning, showing us Antwerp Port is a leading example for India’s ports. Particularly in combination with the speech from Capt Mehta, it shows how overseas models are feasible in India.Intertek India Pvt. Ltd “Very informative and good platform for business planning” ; ArcelorMittal “Informative and inspiring projects in India”

Chowgule Group, CEO, Atul Kulkarni, another key speaker, presented on the role of non-major ports in India Port development with insights into challenges such as cargo increase and connectivity. Mr. Kulkarni gave upcoming project information and challenging points of view, which were a little controversial but concise. Schade Lagertechnik GmbH commented that it was a “very good holistic view of ports” . From ArcelorMittal, Daniel Dillenburger, Senior Sales Manager gave a very detailed presentation on their sheet piling product that’s a tailor-made solution for harbour structures. Daniel’s speech was technically very solid and perfectly fit into the program theme of the expansion and upgrading of existing infrastructure. DP World acknowledged it was an “interesting and informative” speech andPort of Gheetapuram were impressed with ArcelorMittal’s “new concept of sheet piling” .

Prominent speaker Rainer Woerner, Director of Sales and Business Development, Atlas Maritime Security, illustrated the role of advanced VTS systems in port operations. It was a well balanced, professional presentation, that was warmly welcomed by the Indian audience and was an excellent reference for the locals since Atlas work with Mumbai Port, and are presently upgrading their existing service. Meloth Krishnan, Project Manager-International Development, Dublin Port Company gave an informative and useful speech on proactively avoiding and limiting damage due to weather and climate conditions. He was also on day 2 a very solid Chairman who stimulated the audience into interesting Q&A sessions. Dhamra Port Company Limited “It was an excellent event”

The most revered speaker at the event was James H. Hartung, Chairman, SeaSnake WorldWideMarketing. He spoke on the efficiency and speed of the Seasnake/Seatrains new technology. The new innovations were noted as being eye-opening, well supported and backed up by amazing R&D. It’s a new method of shipping that walks away from the rigid container ship, it’s like a train on the sea, adding flexibility and speed to the loading and offloading procedures. For Indian Ports struggling with bottlenecks, limited berth space and waters that are not always deep enough, it could be very easily integrated and would add to their efficiency. It is expected to be built very soon in India. Electromech Material Handling“Very innovative concept”, Worley Parsons“Well done, good facts” .

Other notable speakers included Tuomas Saastamoinen, Sales & Marketing Director of KoneCranes who presented on the newest automations for handling equipment, Electromech Material Handling noted this held “great possibilities” ; Devdatta Bose, Deputy General Manager – Ports and Harbours, Tata Consulting Engineering spoke on the opportunities in the India Port Sector; from Aumund, General Manager, Matt Jones described how on-shore systems can increase capacity through-put; and Stan de Smet, General Manager, Phaeros spoke on the efficiency in port operations through terminal and port community software. Corrtech International Pvt Ltd “We got the information we expected from this conference”

Also notable was the panel discussion on day one. The panel consisted of Capt Kumar, Chairman of Chennai Port; M. Muruli Krishna, Kakinada Seaports and Nitteen Borwankar, Chief Mechanical Engineer, Kandla Port. Attendees noted the high quality of the in-depth networking sessions, the success of the long meetings that took place on site and how overall the event was a good business platform for overseas attendees. ArcelorMittal “Nice event, interesting one to one meetings. Thank you” . Delegates and speakers expressed that they will keep coming back as there is tremendous potential in this market, growth is huge and private ports and minor ports` contribution to India’s port growth will keep increasing. Kakinada Seaports “Satisfactory, there were many players from the port sector which added value to the event”

Noppen would like to express special thanks to the India Port Expansion and Capacity Upgrading Conference sponsors and supporters; including Franz Wölfer Elektromaschinenfabrik Osnabrück GmbH, Atlas Maritime Security (AMS) GmbH, ArcelorMittal, Cargotec, Konecranes, SeaSnake WorldWideMarketing, Mactor, Kongsberg, Intertek, JCB, Phaeros and Al Fahad for their immense contribution to the event.

India Port Expansion and Capacity Upgrading Conference

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