Belekeri, six ports to be leased out

Bengaluru: Finding most ports in the state inactive , the state government is leasing seven  of them , including the Belekeri port from where confiscated iron ore vanished mysteriously a couple of years ago, to private operators for a period of 30  years to revive them.

 

Besides Belekeri, the other ports being leased out are Manki, Honnavara, Mavina Durga, Pavina Kuruve, Thadadi, and Malpe. Speaking to reporters here on Monday, ports, inland transport and textile minister, Baburao Chinchansoor explained that most of the 12 ports in the state had been lying  idle for decades and the government did not have the funds to revive them. “We  need a lot of investment to create proper infrastructure at these ports and so decided to rope in private players,'' he said.

 

The government has already met with some success. While Ashraya Ports has agreed to take over the operations of Belikeri port and invest Rs 3000 crore to improve its infrastructure,  a company from  Andhra Pradesh  has come forward to take over Honnavara port and the Renuka Sugar Factory will  invest Rs 600 crore in the Manki port.

 

The ports will operate on a PPP model and share their revenue with the government, according to the minister.