Central govt's port monetisation drive delayed on security clearance

 The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has been able to award projects worth only 14 per cent of the target amount in 2021-22. The ministry has been able to monetise three projects worth approximately Rs 1,000 crore, falling significantly short of the target of Rs 6,924 crore from 13 projects for this fiscal year. According to NITI Aayog, the national monetisation pipeline (NMP) for the sector encompasses nine of India’s 12 major ports.

Awarding of contracts for these projects can only take place after obtaining separate security clearances from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, and Ministry of Home Affairs, as the projects fall in strategic areas. As per government regulations, the final security clearance accorded to a bidder is typically valid for five years.

The 13 projects include big-ticket items like development of western dock captive berth at Paradip Port for Rs 3,000 crore, leasing out of a container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for Rs 863 crore, and operations and management (O&M) of Mumbai International Cruise Terminal for Rs 495 crore.

According to the NMP plan released by NITI Aayog, the central government plans to monetise 31 cargo berths valued at Rs 12,828 crore by the end of 2024-25, accounting for 2 per cent of the overarching monetisation target of Rs 6 trillion. The shipping ministry is also understood to have tweaked its monetisation targets for this fiscal year in view of the shortfall in FY22, which will be on the agenda in the upcoming apex committee meeting of the ministry’s flagship Sagarmala plan.

The NMP lays out port assets worth Rs 4,680 crore in FY23, Rs 915 crore in FY24, and Rs 1940 crore in FY25 for leasing out to private entities. The contracts will be awarded for a 30-year period and actual capital investment is likely to happen in phases during the initial years in the envisaged concession period.

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