Singapore firm’s dispute with DP World, APM Terminals has escalated
Singapore’s PSA International Pte Ltd has quit membership of the Indian Private Ports and Terminals Association (IPPTA), an industry lobby group, as its dispute with DP World and APM Terminals over the issue of transfer of containers hauled by rail to/from different terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) escalates into a full-blown rivalry.
PSA, owned by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, is no longer a member of IPPTA, a 15-member group that was formed to lobby the government on port industry related issues at major ports, multiple persons having knowledge of PSA’s exit from IPPTA, said. PSA’s name does not figure in the list of IPPTA members, according to its website.
PSA’s decision to walk out of IPPTA is connected to a complaint it had filed with India’s anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI). In the complaint, PSA alleged that the Dubai government-owned entity (D P World) and the container port operating unit of A P Moller-Maersk Group A/S (A P M Terminals), which have been running facilities at JNPT for many years, were creating entry barriers to its newly-opened terminal at India’s busiest container gateway, thereby limiting its operational effectiveness since the 18 February start.
Read more on The Hindu BusinessLine.
