Feasibility study of a hub and feeder port network in India

Abstract

The phenomenon of containerization has brought about a significant change in the structure of international general cargo shipping. Container throughput figures of world ports show exceptionally high growth rates almost independent from the development of the world economy. A natural consequence of containerization has been the development of transhipment and feeder shipping. This paper begins by examining the impact of containerization on the development of major world ports specifically Dubai and Singapore which are two of the largest hub ports in the world today with a high proportion of their traffic consisting of trans-shipped containers. This is then compared with trends in India’s container traffic. The sensitivity of container throughput to economic indicators like GDP export and import are compared for India and Singapore. A brief overview of the hub and feeder port logistics concept is provided along with a rational for the adoption of such an network policy. This is then applied to the Indian context where a methodology for mapping out urban hinterlands is described as a prelude to evaluating select Indian ports for their suitability for being made a hub port. The evaluation employs operational performance and financial health criteria to come up with the best choice for conferring hub port status on a port on the Indian coastline.