DTIS, Volume I - Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)

Significant improvements have been achieved in the accessibility of a large number of
islands over the past seven years, due to the government’s programme of constructing
jetties and clearing access canals. Between the two Vulnerability and Poverty Assessment
(VPA) surveys in 1997 and 2004, 36 more islands had been made accessible and 14 more
could be reached by a big dhoni. Thus in 2004, of the 192 inhabited islands, only 70
islands remain that can only be reached by a small dhoni. This is a reduction of more than
40 per cent.
D. ISSUES FOR REFORM
The challenges facing maritime transport are similar to those that face domestic air
transport.
The first is hub capacity. There is need to ensure that the MCH is capable of
accommodating increasing goods (and passenger) volumes. Exactly analogously to the
case of MIA, MCH functions as the international hub seaport. It is struggling to cope
with current cargo volumes and its physical growth possibilities are limited. A new
international hub seaport is a very likely scenario. The question is not so much whether to
develop it than where to situate it. Any new port will need to make adequate provision for
the needs of island maritime traffic.
Essentially, the concept boils down to accommodating international activity at a single
air/sea hub, using regional air/sea-ports as first-level distribution centres, and using local
(island) air/sea-ports as second-level distribution centres.
The window of opportunity for implementation of the inter-modal concept is to some
extent determined by the remaining lifetime of MCH, which the MPA has estimated to be
no more than five years from mid-2005 when these issues were discussed with the DTIS
team. Therefore, within this five-year period, the inter-modal concept must be taken
through all the stages from initial government endorsement of the concept, to economic
and technical feasibility, to government approval of the development project, to funding,
to design, to construction, and finally to commissioning. The timeframe is not generous,
and immediate action is required if the window of opportunity is not to be lost.
The second issue for reform is interchange capacity. To ensure the quick and efficient
movement of goods from foreign-going ships to domestic boats an interchange facility
with the appropriate infrastructure and amenities is needed. In this respect, maritime
transport faces exactly the same constraint, as does air transport - the interchange facility
is lacking. The solution is exactly the same as with the air transport sector, namely the
creation of a facility that facilitates the rapid transfer of goods (and passengers where
necessary) between the international and domestic segments. Facilities for improved
handling of reefer containers and a terminal for handling of fresh product should also be
considered.
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