The government is committed to improving the availability of containers, faster evacuation of export consignments, and reducing congestion at the ports, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, said on Thursday.

Chairing an inter-ministerial meeting to address issues related to rising freight costs, shipping delays, shortage and non-availability of containers and congestion at the ports, the minister said the decisions taken by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ministry of Railways will result in successfully addressing these issues.

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Minister Goyal said that the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has decided to allow empty containers to be stored for a period of 90 days in the yard at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) free of cost and has also slashed the loading and handling charges significantly.

JNPT Chairman Unmesh Sharad Wagh assured that steps have already been taken to eliminate any congestion and bottlenecks.

To enhance export-related processes, traffic delays near and around the JNPA will be minimised and simultaneous container scanning at the port will be implemented for faster clearances and reduced turnaround time.

According to Railway Board Chairman and CEO Satish Kumar, the charges of Rs 3,000 that are being levied beyond 90 days, are now reduced to Rs 1,500. Further, the storage and handling rates will be reduced for containers from Rs 9,000 to Rs 2,000 (for a 40-feet container) and from Rs 6,000 to Rs 1,000 (for a 20-feet container).

The Commerce Minister urged all stakeholders to make concerted efforts to significantly mitigate the difficulties and address the issues faced by the exporters. Goyal emphasised that due to the current geopolitical tensions, Red Sea Crisis, Houthi operations, ongoing wars and its impact on international trade, there was a need to engage with a multidisciplinary team.

During the meeting, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) announced that on an immediate basis, capacity will be enhanced by 9,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The SCI will also buy an additional five container ships to further enhance cargo handling capacity. The shipping lines assured that all charges like container transportation and Lift on-Lift off at yards would be embedded in the delivery order given to shippers.

According to Secretary, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shipping, T.K. Ramachandran, the port capacities have already been enhanced by 2.3 million TEUs. Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam announced that all efforts will be taken to ensure faster movement of air cargo and reduce turnover time. The stakeholders in the meeting also decided to set up a multidisciplinary help desk to support exporters.