Under the concept, a major port development authority should be created to work as a landlord port authority which would adopt competitive bidding for leasing out ports (berth/terminals) to private or corporatised port trusts.CII has favoured decontrol of tariffs once the ports are corporatised and enough competition develops in the sector.

To attract private investment in ports on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, CII felt that the private operator should be allowed to transfer a facility after the end of concession period to the government at the book value and not free of cost. This could also act as an incentive for the operator to keep the facility modern and efficient.

The chamber has also called for consolidation and redrafting of laws relating to the port sector in order to facilitateimplementation of the landlord port authority concept and promote BOT investment.

It has suggested a three-step restructuring for bringing efficiency into port operations. Besides, it has also charted out a five-point agenda for attracting private investment in the sector.

Under the restructuring plan, all major ports should be transferred to the major port development authority within three to four years.

The plan also called for corporatising all major ports within three to four years. Starting with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, all ports should be operated on commercial lines, it said. Subsequently, the government should divest its stake and withdraw completely from port operations.

Since environmental clearance is one of the major hindrances in green field projects, the chamber suggested that all the concerned state and central governments should obtain environmental clearances for port projects before offering them to the private sector. This would avoid disagreement between environmentalistsand developers which leads to delay in project implementation.

The chamber also called upon the ministry of surface transport to evolve a model concession agreement for ports after full consultation with investors and financial institutions.

CII stressed the need for a master plan for port development based on a comprehensive study of national economic trends and traffic pattern. It asked the Central government to come out with such a plan for the next 20 years. This would help investors understand the likely capacity addition required as well as the expected traffic flow.

The chamber felt that the plan should also act as a blueprint for integrated development of ports. It should also gear up other department to provide the necessary infrastructure base for ports and other core areas.