India could soon free up tariff fixation for existing private terminal operators at ports administered by the central government, officials said. The move is aimed at giving flexibility to private operators in deciding tariffs.
As per the tariff migration guidelines being firmed up, all public-private partnership (PPP) concessionaires will be allowed to frame their Scale of Rates (SoR) and shift to market-based tariffs, a government official said.
“This will usher in a level playing field among public-private partnership terminal operators that have been adhering to multiple tariff regimes,” the official said.
These tariff guidelines will apply to all the PPP concessionaires at major ports, the official added.
Major ports are governed by the Centre and cater to roughly 55% of India’s
total cargo handling capacity. The rest are under the administrative control of
states.