The Hindu : Business : Port union's plea to invoke MRTP Act

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006

Business

Business

Port union's plea to invoke MRTP Act

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The Water Transport Workers Federation of India has appealed to the Union Government to stop Dubai Ports World from taking over the container terminals being operated at Chennai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) by Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).

The Federation has suggested that steps be taken under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act (MRTP Act) to prevent DP World's take over of P&O terminals in the country.

This is to prevent the emergence of a monopoly-like situation in container handling in the country's ports, said M. M. Lawrence, president of the Federation, at a meeting between major trade union representatives in the ports sector and Secretary (Shipping) A. K. Mohapatra in New Delhi recently.

"The move by DP World to acquire P&O's container terminals in India forebodes the emergence of monopoly in container port service," said a spokesman for the Federation, one of the five major trade unions in the ports sector.

This development did not auger well for the country's port sector, especially with the Union Government's declared policy to facilitate competition in container port services through concession agreements involving private sector partners, he added.

Even before the controversy over the takeover of six American ports by DP World had burst on the scene, the Federation had taken up the issue of possible emergence of a monopoly-like situation in the Indian containerised cargo-handling situation, he added.

The Federation felt that a review of all concession agreements with private sector players in all the Indian ports would be appropriate so as to bring them in conformity with Indian laws that curb monopoly.

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