Context:

Bihar Industry minister recently inaugurated the state’s first dry port at Bihta near Patna, Bihar.

About Bihta Dry Port

• It is connected by rail to the major gateway ports of Kolkata, Haldia, Visakhapatnam, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, and the major national and international trade routes.
• This state-of-the-art facility is spread over seven acres and is being run in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode by Pristine Magadh Infrastructure Private Limited and Bihar’s industry department.
• It is fully commissioned and approved under the Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance.
• The first export consignment from the Port was leather shoes sent to Russia.

What is a Dry Port? 

• A dry port, also called an Inland Container Depot (ICD) or multimodal logistics centre, is an inland terminal connected to a seaport by rail or road.
• It provides a logistics facility away from a seaport or airport and acts as a bridge between sea/airports and inland regions, facilitating the efficient movement of goods.
• The first dry port in India was opened on the Ganga River in Varanasi in 2018.
• The Government has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to act as a single window for clearance of proposals to set up dry ports/Inland Container Depot (ICDs)/Container Freight Stations (CFSs)/Air Freight Stations (AFSs). 

Other Dry Ports under construction

• ICD Dahej, Gujarat
• ICD Manaba, Gujarat
• ICD Varnama, Gujarat
• ICD Ahmedgarh, Punjab
• ICD Jalna, Maharashtra
• ICD Kheda, Madhya Pradesh
• ICD Borkhedi, Maharashtra
• ICD Attibule, Karnataka
• ICD Hoskote, Karnataka
• ICD Nanjangud, Karnataka
• ICD Naultha, Haryana

Ports in India

Ports are classified as Major and Minor Ports according to the jurisdiction of the Central and State government as defined under the Indian Ports Act (IPA), 1908.

Major Ports are owned and managed by the Central Government under the Major Port Authority Act, 2021 while the Minor ports are owned and managed by the State Governments under the Indian Ports Act of 1908.

India currently has 13 operational Major Ports controlled by the central government and another 200 non-major ones governed by the states.

• The 13 Major Ports are – Chennai, Cochin, Deendayal (Kandla), Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), Kolkata, Mormugao, Mumbai, New  Mangalore, Paradip, V. O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin), Visakhapatnam, and  Kamarajar Port Limited (Ennore), and Galathea Bay.
• Recently in September 2024, the government notified Galathea Bay as the 13th major port.
• Apart from the government-owned major ports, Mundra Port is the largest private port and the largest container port in India.