Port projects of less than Rs 500 crore won't need Cabinet nod

NEW DELHI: The government today said port projects of less than Rs 500 crore would not require Cabinet approval.

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure approved the proposal of delegation of enhanced financial powers to the Ministry of Shipping for Port Projects in the Public and Private Partnership mode in line with NHDP projects in the roads sector, an official statement said.

For projects costing more than Rs 500 crore, approval of the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure is required for Port Sector PPP projects, the statement said.

It added that earlier the approval of CCI was required for projects costing more than Rs 300 crore.

The enhanced delegation of financial powers to the Ministry of Shipping will accelerate investment approval to PPP Projects.

Besides cost escalation due to delays in award of projects could also be avoided. Further public interest will be served by the enhanced delegation of powers as the same would enable expeditious approval of port projects, in the PPP mode.

The Ministry of Shipping has been experiencing delays in the award of PPP projects due to the time taken in completing procedures for approval.

If the port sector is delegated powers on the lines of the road sector, the time taken for according investment approval to PPP can be reduced.

This would facilitate speedy development of port capacity in the years to come.