Kochi, Sep 9 : India's maritime industry is poised for major growth as the union government has initiated steps to double capacity of ports and increase cargo movement through inland waterways by four times in the next five years, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan said on Friday.

Addressing the inauguration of the administrative-cum-academic block of the Indian Maritime University (IMU) Kochi campus here, he said, "The demand for skilled professionals in the maritime sector is set to grow in the coming years. 

"IMU has to play a vital role in supplying quality manpower to the industry by imparting high quality education and training to the students. The government will take steps to make IMU as centre of excellence in the maritime sector."

The minister pointed out the government has recently started ranking of the IMU campuses and the Kochi campus will be made research centre from 2017-2018.

The IMU Kochi centre was established in 2009 with the first campus being setup at the training centre of Cochin Port Trust. The present campus is located in an area of 10 acre in Willingdon Island and includes the newly-built Administrative-cum-Academic building, a state-of-art marine workshop and a students' hostel.