The Centre has decided to table a new bill that will facilitate a model agreement by way of public-private partnership in the port sector, a top government official said.
At the CEOs’ Forum on the first day of the Maritime India Summit in Mumbai, Rajive Kumar, secretary, shipping, said: “In the next two months, we will have a new model agreement, hopefully by June 30. The ministry of shipping is coming up with a separate bill that can handle a long-term concessional arrangement between port and terminal operators.”
Mr Kumar said there are several investment opportunities in dredging and barge development as the coastal cargo movement is set to grow six times in the next 10 years.
To make the coastal cargo and inland cargo movement economically feasible, Mr Kumar said the duty on bunker fuel has been removed for containers. He said the objective is to bring down bunker fuel cost further for all cargo.
States have been requested to bring down VAT on bunker fuel, and three of them have responded, he said. Meanwhile, the government is also seriously considering a revamp of the role of the port regulator Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP). Responding to a query from the forum, Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari said, “We want to close the TAMP chapter immediately, and the process is on to replace it with a new system.”
