|
Around Lm2.7 million in savings from doing away with the GWU-owned Cargo Handling Ltd port fees are feared will reappear as the new costs for port and Freeport services.
Importers and traders have told MaltaToday they have indications that the Lm2.7 million savings that should result as a consequence of doing away with unnecessary fees, can reappear as new charges in the existent port and Freeport services.
The savings would advantage the consumer and add some competitive edge to the beleaguered importer. Though the government has been publicly committed to privatise port facilities, it appears that it is obliging tendering companies to hold on to the 150 or so port workers, and in doing so had discriminated against those companies who had the intention of coming in with new working practices.
Foreign consultants working on the tendering have told MaltaToday the port services could be manned by a mere 40 workers. They have also criticised the authorities for having mismanaged the development of the port area with construction at the water’s edge and this eventually led to a serious problem in the handling of offloading in the port area.
A comparison in costs between handling a 40-foot container in Malta to that of Antwerp is staggering by comparison. A 40-foot container cost Lm216 and in Antwerp the cost is Lm46, a startling 78 per cent cheaper.
|
