Restructuring of GMB on the fast track
With Gujarat’s maritime sector opening up for private players, the state government has put the restructuring of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) on a fast track.
By Harit Mehta, TNN |
AHMEDABAD: With Gujarat’s maritime sector opening up for private players, the state government has put the restructuring of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) on a fast track.
Chief minister Narendra Modi is expected to review a proposal to restructure Gujarat Maritime Board, the first autonomous state board to be established in 1982, on Tuesday.
As per the proposal, the board will be split into two entities — one’s role will be that of a regulatory body while the other would be a functional entity.
A team of Gujarat Maritime Board officials would make a detailed presentation regarding the restructuring before Modi, the state’s chief secretary and other senior officials. Some time back GMB had commissioned a study to Deloitte, Haskins & Sells.
The findings recommended restructuring of the board into a leaner outfit and also splitting it into two entities. It is also believed that Gujarat needs to treble its cargo-handling capacities over the next three years due to the exports from proposed SEZs.
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“The GMB has to be equipped to keep pace with the developments. With so many private players evincing interest in Gujarat ports, the government believes that the GMB should be made into a more professional outfit. For some reasons progress on GMB restructuring could not make any headway,” says a senior government official involved with the restructuring process.Players such as L&T, Essar Group, Haryana-based SRF, DLF, Central Warehousing Corporation, amongst others, have evinced interest in developing greenfield port sites in the state of Gujarat. Sources say a team of GMB officials is re-visiting the restructuring study done some time back in the present context.
“A lot has changed since the Deloitte, Haskins & Sells study was conducted. With so many private players, there is a need for the GMB to provide a level playing field. Hence, the concept of splitting it into two. We are making necessary changes to the original proposal. Once the CM approves it, we can go ahead full-throttle with the project,” says the official.
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