Govt rules out privatisation of major ports

NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday ruled out complete privatisation of any major port saying port trusts would function as landlords leasing out facilities to private parties.
"There is no plan to privatise ports totally. We will corporatise ports while maintaining the landlord port concept," Shipping Minister Ved Prakash Goyal told a news conference here.
The private sector would be leased existing assets like terminals, warehouses, equipment and docks, he said, adding the government would continue to own the ports.
To begin with, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai and Haldia Port Trust would be corporatised after the enabling legislation is passed by the Parliament, Goyal said.
Goyal said a transhipment hub is proposed to be set up at Vallarpadam near Cochin port to enable mainline vessels to come in. Tenders for the Rs 2,000 crore project, to be executed on Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) basis, would be floated shortly.
Leading global port operators including P&O Ports of Australia and PSA of Singapore have envinced interest in developing the transshipment container terminal at Vallarpadam, he said adding the project will be completed in 36 months from the date of signing of agreement.
Work on the much-delayed Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project would begin early next year, Goyal said. The project would link the Palk bay and the Gulf of Mannar on the East coast by creating a shipping canal from the Bay of Bengal through Rameswaram to Tuticorin.