Speech by CG during India-China Logistics Forum

[10.05.2017 at 1800 hrs] 

Namaskar, Dajia Hao, Good Evening to all of you.

Distinguished Guests,

I am extremely happy to be among you at the India-China Logistics Forum, organized by Krishnapatnam Port, an important logistics infrastructure company having operations in the Eastern cost of India.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management plays a pivotal role in nation’s development, it acts as an enabler, and more so as a differentiator by making a country or region stronger than others. The last four decades has witnessed major improvements in the logistics & global supply chains, as a result, it has provided linkages for the developing countries to international markets. China is a great example of this transformation, and it clearly stands-out as an example for others to follow. I would recommend the leaders of Krishnapatnam port present here to learn the best practices from China, including the exploitation of the inland water ways and implement in their future expansion projects in India.

Today a substantial share of logistics & global supply chains are taking place in developing countries, offering a range of opportunities as well as throwing new set of challenges. According to the latest UNCTAD Report on Trends in Global Trade in Services, Transport and Logistics Sector has grown by 8.5%, in comparison the overall growth of 7% for Trade in Services Sector. In order to mainstream trade as growth enabler the developing countries are required not only to implement economic policies for increasing competitiveness of their enterprises, but also improve the logistics sectors reliability and efficiency. We are happy to note that private sector companies like Navyuga group has been instrumental in realizing this national strategy.

India has taken a serious note of the importance of logistics infrastructure for overall industrial growth and has embarked on ambitious plan for holistic development of rail, road, port, waterways, coastal shipping, airlines, digital connectivity, power etc. Krishnapatnam Port is a good example of this growth story. We expect that these developments may drive India from 7% growth rate to double digit growth.

The Krishnapatnam Port is the largest private sector port in the eastern part of India which has paid special emphasis on developing its capacity in handling the modern container traffic and liquid cargo. Given the volume of trade between India and China which is over 100 billion dollars and with other south-east Asian countries, we see that Krishnapatnam Port will continue to witness an impressive growth in near future.

The full capacity utilization of Krishnapatnam port is expected to greatly enhance the connectivity of the Eastern Region of India by reducing the cost of logistics and by increasing the overall efficiency particularly through providing trans-shipment facilities to the cargos which are destined for the Eastern and Southern parts of India.

Government’s emphasis on developing coastal shipping, exploitation of inland waterways and lying of arterial roads and dedicated freight corridors is going to greatly benefit the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

It is worthwhile to mention that these States are important destinations for investments from China. Efficient container handling by Navyuga Container Terminal may spur rapid economic growth, speedy industrialization and better integration with the overseas supply chain.

The Eastern coastal part of India has been an important engine of economic growth and has tremendous potential for future growth. This port is said to have all characteristics of resilient infrastructure to cope up with new and emerging challenges posed by the increase in frequency and intensity of the disastrous natural events, particularly the hydro-meteorological events so as to keep it functional when it is needed the most.

On this occasion I thank all the organizers, the participants and all of you present here. I am sure that this event has helped in better understanding each other’s priorities and preferences so as to pave the way for establishing win win situation for all.

Thank you all.