New Delhi: The Central government has taken the decision to disinvest Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) because the container transport industry has come of age and has a number of private sector container train operators, said Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha on Friday when asked about CONCOR's disinvestment. In a written response, the minister said, "There are 19 Private Sector Container Train Operators (CTOs) in the field with 24 Terminals all over India other than CONCOR. Looking at the structure of the Container Transport Industry, it has been identified as one of the entities where the process started in 1994 can be taken ahead."
The minister told the Lok Sabha that the government started the process of minority stake disinvestment in the year 1994-95. At this point of time, the government holds 54.80 percent equity in CONCOR.
The government announced its decision to disinvest 30.8 percent stake, along with management control, in CONCOR in November 2019. However, the disinvestment process has seen delays on account of the situation arising out of the COVID-19 crisis. The government is targeting to raise Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment in FY22. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey had said recently that CONCOR disinvestment will not happen in this fiscal as the railway land usage policy is yet to be finalised.
CONCOR has a network of 61 terminals (Inland Container Depot/ Container Freight Station) on all India basis, which are well connected to the major gateway ports of India. CONCOR has stakes in Vallarpadam Container Berth at Cochin and Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. (GTIL) at Mumbai. CONCOR has subsidiaries — CONCOR Air Limited and Fresh and Healthy Enterprises Limited. These entities are operating in the field of air cargo and cold chain.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)