The government has proposed to allow ports to switch to market-linked pricing by reworking their existing contracts. The ports, shipping and waterways ministry has circulated draft guidelines for migration of existing contracts, which will bring parity between terminals operating on different tariff structures, said officials.
Final guidelines will be issued after consultations with stakeholders, said one of the officials, who did not wish to be identified.
The move will allow for more competition among ports and could lead to improved pricing for users, the official said.
The tariff migration exercise would be revenue neutral for the Centre, according to the draft shared with stakeholders late last week.
Ports will have to ink a new agreement for migration, it said. “Public-private partnership (PPP) concessionaires will sign a supplementary agreement for migrating to the new tariff regime,” said a senior official.
It will also ensure that earnings of major ports, where these PPP terminals are located, will not take a hit, as per the official.
Major ports are those governed by the Centre while non-major ones are under the administrative control of state governments. Under the proposed regime, PPP concessionaires on migration will be free to fix rates for the services they offer.
“Royalty as revenue share of major ports would not go below what it would have been under the existing regime,” the official said.
Varying tariff regulations issued from time to time and followed at various ports have different regulatory approaches.
“There is no level playing field amongst the PPP concessionaires at major ports,” the official said.
These measures are aimed at ensuring a consistent user experience.
“Competitive forces are now ensuring self-regulation of performance and tariffs. It is now essential to have a uniform approach tariff setting allowing for consistent user experience,” said the official.
