India shuts ports to Chinese companies

[KashifAsrar]

India shuts ports to Chinese companies

Hutchison Mega Plan Shelved
Manju Menon | TNN



Mumbai: After close to a year of intense debate, the Indian government has decided it does not want the Chinese investing in, or managing, any Indian port.
The first company to bear the brunt of this decision will be Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), the largest independent port operator in the world. The company has been waiting for security clearances before it could go ahead with its bids to build container terminals for Mumbai and Chennai at Rs 1,200 crore and Rs 494 crore respectively. The decision also eliminates future Chinese participation in 13 ports planned across the country at a cost of Rs 61,000 crore.
In many ways, the move is reminiscent of the US Senate’s decision early this year not to allow Dubai Ports (DP) to operate in many American states, including New York and Philadelphia, citing security concerns. Although DP’s entry had President Bush’s backing, the proposal was shot down by the US Congress, sparking a storm of protest across the world, with allegations of bigotry and racial discrimination.
The salvo that ended the debate in India was fired last week when the government sent a confidential note to the chairmen of Mumbai and Chennai Port Trusts. Citing ‘‘security concerns’’, the letter informed the heads of both ports that it had rejected applications from HPH.
Sources said the Kaidi Electric Power Company and Chinese Harbour Engineering Company, which have bid for Vizhinjam port in Kerala, will also meet the same fate as Hutchison.
Both Mumbai and Chennai ports had postponed the container terminal projects for over a year because Hutchison’s application was pending before the government. Following the government note, they have decided to go ahead with the bidding.
‘‘We have informed the others to submit their bids for building the container terminal by September 15,’’ said P Mohana Chandran, secretary, Mumbai Port Trust.
Chennai Port had shortlisted four bids, including the one from Hutchison Port. ‘‘We are analysing the repercussions and will arrive at a decision in a few days,’’ said a Chennai Port official.
Meanwhile, L&T, which had tied up with Hutchison Port for bidding on both projects, has now tied up with Manila-based International Containers Terminal Services to stay in the bid.

India biased, says Beijing
While bidding for major Indian projects, Chinese firms face more discrimination than investors from other countries, according to Beijing’s key facilitator of foreign investments. Some proposals, though highly competitive in terms of price and quality, were rejected allegedly for security reasons, said Wang Jinzhen, secretarygeneral of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade.