Sandesh Prabhudesai
28 September 1999
India's first five-day international exhibition and conference on maritime will be held in Goa from 6 October, with a participation of 22 countries and high level delegations from India and abroad.
Organised by Pradeep Deviah and Associates, the mega event would be held at the Campal grounds in Panaji, converting the prime sports ground of the city into the exhibition venue, on the banks of river Mandovi.
The conference with a theme of Maritime 2000 would be however restricted only for two days, to be held at Hotel Cidade de Goa and Goa International Centre, where around 30 speakers of international repute are expected to share their views.
"It would be an opportunity for all the marine industry-related firms to work out deals of even joint ventures with the foreign companies, which are keen on investing in India", says Yogesh Srinivasan, the CEO of the event.
The response for the mega event appears to be quite impressive as former naval chief Admiral O S Dawson is the chairman of the conference organising committee whereas Admiral Jayant Nadkarni, another former naval chief, is chairing the advisory board.
As it is a first event of its kind held in the country, response is coming from all corners including shipyards, shipbuilders, boat builders, fisheries sector, port infrastructure, equipment manufacturers, navigation software developers, dredging companies, government and private port operators and marine-related associations from India and abroad.
Major countries participating in the event with its trade delegations are from Australia, Finland, Scotland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, France, South Korea, USA, Mauritius, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Netherlands, Germany, China, Japan, UAE and even the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka.
The official level participation does not spare even the Indian nay and coast guards, besides the surface transport ministry, several government and private ports, chairpersons of shipyards, port-related associations, state maritime boards and even the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited.
"Though it would be an event to struck deals in various fields of the marine industry, it appears the main thrust would be on upgradation of the existing ports through joint ventures, which is the need of the hour", says Pradeep Deviah, the brain behind the event.
He expects the whole exercise of worth over Rs two crore to generate enquiries of at least Rs 100 crore. The maritime industry in the country has been developing at a very fast rate, around 40 per cent growth every year, he informs.
Besides 150 stalls put up at the exhibition venue, the organisers have even provided facilities like product presentation theatre for product demos and corporate conference, VIP lounge to discuss serious business issues in privacy and a hi-tech business centre with all types of communication facilities, from telephone to cellulars to e-mail.
The two-day conference, organised simultaneously in the city, would also help around 700 delegates visiting the exhibition. It would deliberate upon important subjects related to ports, harbours and transportation, trade shipping and ocean resources as well as shipbuilding. Fishing is also very much part of it.
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