The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Major Port Authorities Act, 2016. The bill was necessitated by the need to infuse professionalism and increase the autonomy of the 12 port boards and, more importantly, allow future public-private partnership operators to independently fix tariffs based on market conditions by simply notifying the port authority.
When the proposed law takes effect following Parliamentary approval, the port authorities will get the power to lease land for port-related use for up to 40 years and for non-port related use up to 20 years. However, the Centre's approval will be needed for longer leases. Port boards would not need government approval for raising loans, appointment of consultants, execution of contracts and creation of service posts.
Analysts said the proposal to divest the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) of the power to regulate tariffs is a big positive. "Port authority has now been given powers to fix tariff which will act as a reference tariff for purposes of bidding for PPP projects. PPP operators will be free to fix tariff based on market conditions. The board of the port authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for other port services and assets including land," the government said.
Currently, the port trusts award PPP projects on the basis of competitive bidding and the procedures are as follows: TAMP fixes the tariffs (the upper limit) for the relevant port services in consultation with the potential bidders and then the bidding takes place, with the revenue share as the variable. The bidder who pledges to share the highest proportion of revenue with the port authority wins the project. Investors, anxious to bag the projects, bid aggressively on the revenue share - 40-50 percent in some cases - which dents their ability to bring down tariffs.
The PPP model in the sector has been hamstrung by a variety of problems: Port trusts' inability to lease out land to private operators in time, delays in approvals from multiple agencies, rows over interpretations of the concession agreement, often leading to litigation, to name a few. Although 100 per cent FDI is allowed, global tenders are still not the norm due to security threat perceptions. Most of these issues will be addressed if the Bill becomes law.
The Bill proposes to simplify the composition of the port boards: These will comprise 11 members from the present 17 to 19 members representing various interests.
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Cabinet clears Bill to raise autonomy of 12 major ports
By IndianMandarins - 2016-12-16 10:20:30
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Major Port Authorities Act, 2016. The bill was necessitated by the need to infuse professionalism and increase the autonomy of the 12 port boards and, more importantly, allow future public-private partnership operators to independently fix tariffs based on market conditions by simply notifying the port authority.
When the proposed law takes effect following Parliamentary approval, the port authorities will get the power to lease land for port-related use for up to 40 years and for non-port related use up to 20 years. However, the Centre's approval will be needed for longer leases. Port boards would not need government approval for raising loans, appointment of consultants, execution of contracts and creation of service posts.
Analysts said the proposal to divest the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) of the power to regulate tariffs is a big positive. "Port authority has now been given powers to fix tariff which will act as a reference tariff for purposes of bidding for PPP projects. PPP operators will be free to fix tariff based on market conditions. The board of the port authority has been delegated the power to fix the scale of rates for other port services and assets including land," the government said.
Currently, the port trusts award PPP projects on the basis of competitive bidding and the procedures are as follows: TAMP fixes the tariffs (the upper limit) for the relevant port services in consultation with the potential bidders and then the bidding takes place, with the revenue share as the variable. The bidder who pledges to share the highest proportion of revenue with the port authority wins the project. Investors, anxious to bag the projects, bid aggressively on the revenue share - 40-50 percent in some cases - which dents their ability to bring down tariffs.
The PPP model in the sector has been hamstrung by a variety of problems: Port trusts' inability to lease out land to private operators in time, delays in approvals from multiple agencies, rows over interpretations of the concession agreement, often leading to litigation, to name a few. Although 100 per cent FDI is allowed, global tenders are still not the norm due to security threat perceptions. Most of these issues will be addressed if the Bill becomes law.
The Bill proposes to simplify the composition of the port boards: These will comprise 11 members from the present 17 to 19 members representing various interests.
