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NEW DELHI, AUG 11: Shipping ministry’s latest policy announcement on preventing private sector monopoly in major ports seems to have unwittingly created more confusion and apprehensions among port and shipping circles.

The short policy announcement, which was mode to port chairmen on Aug 2, read. “If there is only one private terminal/berth operator in a port for a specific cargo, the operator of that berth or his associates shall not be allowed to bid for the next terminal/berth for handling the same cargo in the same port.”

The order also directed the ports to incorporate the provision in their requiests for qualifications and requests for proposals when inviting bide for projects.

Port and terminal devel opers and operators feel jittery over the announcement as they see lot of potential in the sector to benefit from.

The government has already announced plans to increase the cargo-handling capacity at major ports to nearly 1,000 mlt in the next two of years from 600 mlt with ample help from the private sector.

According to rough estimates, more than Rs 8,000 crore worth of investments are expected to be made for building berth and terminal facilities in ports like chennai, JNPT, Tuticorin and Ennore.

A port operator in Mumbai wondered whether the rule is applicable to ports like JNP where there are multiple terminal operators.

Accordingly, the so-called restriction is applicable only to one player on one particular cargo at a port, The operator would not be able to participate on a second project featuring the same cargo at the port, However, he will be eligible to compete for the third project when it comes up for the same product at the port.

Similarly, if there are more players active in one particular cargo at a given port, then there would not be the restriction on any of the operators when another project for the same cargo comes up at the port. Ministry sources clarified that ports where multiple players are operational like Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the new rule will be applicable but only for RFQs.