Container throughput from Indian ports amounted to 17 million TEU for the period 2020, while for China it was 245 million TEU in the same period. The combined container throughput in the top 20 major global ports amounted to 357 million TEUs in the period 2020.

At the moment, India does not have a land-side megaport and terminal infrastructure to deal with ultra-large container ships. Ports need higher draught, multiple large cranes, better yard management capacity, more automation, larger storage facilities, more inland connectivity and higher labor productivity. Ultra-large container ships strive for a rapid unloading of the large volumes they transport.

To develop global standard ports in India, Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 has identified initiatives such as developing world-class Mega Ports, transhipment hubs and infrastructure modernization of ports. It estimates the investments to the tune of INR 1 –1.25 trillion for capacity augmentation and development of world-class infrastructure at Indian Ports. The upcoming ports at Vizhinjam (Kerala) and Vadhavan (Maharashtra) have natural drafts in excess of 18m that would enable ultra large container and cargo vessels to call on the ports thereby boosting the efforts to make India the world’s factory by improving the container and cargo throughput.