CHENNAI, Aug 25: The Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways will soon issue a Model Concession Agreement (MCA) after incorporating the changes suggested by the stakeholders for the Projects, Schemes & Public-Private-Partnerships (PSPPP), a top official said today.
Speaking to the media here T.K.Ramachandran, the departmental Secretary said: We will shortly issue a Model Concession Agreement (MCA) after incorporating the suggestions.
He also said, the tariff will be fixed, taking into account the stakeholders’ views and the adjudication will be done faster.
The government has set up a special cell called PSPPP project cell to understand the practical problems faced in implementing the PPP projects, said Sunil Paliwal, Chairman, Chennai Port Authority.
Ramachandran said several such cells formed last year have been working well in looking into the various issues and suggesting measures.
They were speaking at the road show event held here for the upcoming India Maritime Week 2025 to be held in Mumbai between October 27-31.
Queried about the outcome of the ASEAN-India Cruise Dialogue held at Mahabalipuram near here, Ramachandran said the focus of that meeting was on promoting cruise tourism between nearby countries and the aim was to start a Bay of Bengal cruise to link ASEAN countries and several countries have agreed upon a common framework.
Paliwal said there is good demand for cruise tourism and cited the Cordelia Cruise, which initially began operating cruises in India on the Western and Eastern coasts, and has now gone international.
According to Paliwal, Cordelia Cruise is planning to add one more cruise ship to its fleet and have it berthed at Chennai while the other one will be berthed on the western coast.
He also said plans are being worked out to have cruise tourism between Rameswaram and Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
Queried about the expansion plans of Chennai Port, Paliwal said the port s investments are towards refurbishing its existing facilities while new infrastructure facilities will be done at the Kamarajar Port, also in Chennai.
Paliwal said the port is improving the cruise terminal so that the entire space is put to use; improvement works on Jawahar and Bharathi Docks are being improved.
Meanwhile, the road show for the India Maritime Week 2025 saw the participation of over 150 delegates, including officials from the central and state governments, industry bodies, EXIM trade and other stakeholders.
At the road show, Paliwal explained the various policy-level decisions taken by the Ministry with respect to the model Concession Agreements for PPP projects, Streamlining Environment Clearance Procedure, Training and Capacity Building initiatives, standardisation of rules and regulations, recent employment drive through common direct recruitment.
Ramachandran said the India Maritime Week is the first of its kind event to be held in India and is modelled on such events held in other leading seafaring nations.
The event is expected to attract about one lakh people from about 100 countries. (UNI)
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