India's maritime sector set to reach USD 80 bn by 2020: IRS

India's maritime business is set to grow 20 per cent annually to reach USD 80 billion by 2020, a Indian Register of Shipping top official said yesterday.

"The country's maritime business has a lot of opportunities and is set to grow 20 per cent annually to reach USD 80 billion by 2020," said Arun Sharma, CMD, Indian Register of Shipping.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of INMEX INDIA 2013 maritime exhibition here.

Indian government has announced a combined USD 110 billion package to develop its ports and ship-building industry by 2020 and against a background of globalisation and liberalisation, the global shipping industry has increasingly started looking to India for ship-building, ship repair and many other services, he said.

"The Indian maritime sector - which handles 90 per cent of India's International trade - facilitates not only transportation of national and international cargo but also provides a variety of other services such as cargo handling services, ship-building and ship repairing, freight forwarding, lighthouse facilities and training of marine personnel, etc," said Guru Prasath, Group Director, Informa Exhibitions.

The three-day event is supported by the Ministry of Shipping.

The exhibition has over 550 participating companies from 35 countries, including 7 country pavilions from Holland, Norway, Korea, Singapore and China among others.

The products and solutions being showcased at the event include dredging, marine equipment, marine off-shore technology, ocean engineering, port equipment, port technology, ship repair, marine telecommunications and navigational equipment, ship-building and underwater robotics among others.
Source: PTI