Landlord Port Model

WHY IN NEWS?

The Union Cabinet has given its 'in-principle' approval for setting up a Major Port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra to be developed on "land lord model".

ABOUT LANDLORD PORT MODEL

• Landlord ports are ports where the port authority owns only the basic infrastructure, leasing it out to operators, mostly on a long-term concession basis, while retaining all regulatory functions (directly control strategic port activities & supervise commercial operations).
• Port operations are carried out by private companies, which provide and maintain their own superstructure, including buildings and cargo-handling equipment at the terminals.
• The Port Authority will own and manage the sites in the port area, and make them available to port companies for their activities on the basis of concession agreement.
• The infrastructure will be leased to private sector to manage the terminal operations. The government or public sector only acts as the owner of the port.

Prelims Question

Q. Which of the following statements is not correct regarding Landlord Port model?
a. The government owns the basic infrastructure of the port
b. Port operations are carried out by private companies
c. The government retains regulatory functions over the port
d. Private companies cannot build any infrastructure in the port

Answer to the Prelims Question