Maritime trade in the country loses over Rs 1,400 crore per annum due to

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poor infrastructure at major ports, despite the Rs 55,800-crore government scheme to develop docks being underway, the country's top auditor has said.

"...Deepening projects, critical for the competitiveness of the ports, were neglected. These factors limited the berthing options available to ships, resulting in their queueing for few berths, leading to high pre-berthing detentions... Maritime trade in India lost more than Rs 1,400 crore per annum on account of such detention."

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said. Depths available at the major Indian ports were unable to cater to all types of vessels that plied international waters, it said in its latest report adding, "...Dredging undertaken by these ports had not been effective."

"To address the need (capacity augmentation), the (Shipping) Ministry formulated the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP) in 2005-06, which envisaged an investment of Rs 55,800 crore for the (development of) major ports by 2012," the CAG report said, indicting the Shipping Ministry for poor facilities like cargo handling and night navigation.

A recent government document too pointed out that the average turnaround time of major Indian ports continue to be way below the desired average, undermining their competitiveness.