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The first of July will come and pass without the expected reduction of port charges. Although Valletta Gateway Terminal, the joint venture comprising the Tumas Group and a Singaporean company, is set to take over operations at the port, it will still need a few months to settle down before the much acclaimed cost reduction takes place.
Confronted by MaltaToday, Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea acknowledged that the five per cent reduction in port charges announced last week, will only materialise in a few months’ time and not on 1 July, when the company takes over. Galea’s declaration contrasts with declarations made last week during the signing of the cargo handling tender, where it was stated that the new contract would immediately lead to a five per cent reduction.
The five per cent reduction in costs by the new operators was announced by Malta Maritime Authority chairman Marc Bonello and Galea last Saturday, when the agreement with the new company was signed.
The reduction is still however a far cry from the 25 per cent cut envisaged by the minister before embarking on the cumbersome mission of ridding the ports of their labyrinthine system of charges, in which different groups of workers and agents actually have profit margins.
Last Saturday the minister could only hope that “at the end of the reform process we will see hefty reductions.”
Yet even the conservative five per cent reduction may come about “possibly by the end of the year,” according to Galea.
MaltaToday is informed that during a meeting for shipping agents, Dr Marc Bonello told those present that the new reduced port charges will not be coming in force on 1 July. He told those present that the new operators will need a few months to settle down before costs are reduced. Minister Censu Galea insists that he has never committed himself that these reductions will apply from the first day of the concession granted to Tumas Group and a Singaporean company.
“It was the representative of the Singaporean company who last Saturday said that the new rates will apply from the first day. I never said that costs will be reduced immediately,” Galea told MaltaToday.
Yet the minister made it clear that the process of port reform is set to continue. “Shipping agents should understand that the days of the old system are over.”
Presently shipping agents are responsible for the unloading of goods from ship to quay. Port workers are paid by the shipping agents who charge FIOS charges on importers. According to a Malta Development Corporation report issued in 2001, the shipping agent’s cut on each 20-foot container amounts to Lm11.
This is all set to change as the new company will take responsibility over all those involved in the unloading of goods.
Another sector which will be affected by the award of the new contract are cargo haulers, who charge importers for transporting goods from the quay to a specific area of the port. Discussions with the GRTU, which represents these workers, are also forthcoming.
The GRTU yesterday issued a stern warning over the new cargo handling arrangements, which would see its members lose out on a cut they currently have from the transportation of cargo within the port.
As 1 July approaches, operators at the port are increasingly restless, protesting that the old system is only being replaced by a new monopoly. And as long as reform does not bring about tangible reductions in costs, these recriminations can only gain credence.
But Minister Censu Galea remains committed that at the end, the process will bring about hefty reductions which will be reflected in less costs for importers.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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