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Kurt Sansone
The Freeport will soon join the ranks of privatised government entities as negotiations with the French shipping company CMA-CGM are in their final stages.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on Thursday said the Freeport’s privatisation process was at an advanced stage and a proposal was soon to be presented to Cabinet for approval.
The Investments and IT ministry, responsible for privatisation, would not divulge any information on the state of negotiations and government’s asking price.
“No information can be given on the state of negotiations as these are still ongoing and are of a confidential and commercially sensitive nature.
“As soon as any decision or agreement of any kind is reached MIIIT will make the necessary announcements,” the ministry told MaltaToday.
A similar reply was had from Roger Bottau, spokesperson for CMA-CGM.
“Sorry but we are not yet in a position to answer to your various requests,” Bottau said when queried about the deal that is currently being hammered out between government and the French company.
The CMA-CGM is represented in Malta by Carmelo Caruana Shipping agents, owned by the Hili brothers.
In shipping circles it is being rumoured that the price tag on the Freeport is in excess of Lm100 million even if the authorities are keeping mum on the deal. It is unclear whether the negotiations are about the complete sell-out of the Freeport or simply the privatisation of the port’s management.
The news that the privatisation deal is soon to be concluded has irked the Union Haddiema Maghqudin that represents Freeport workers.
In a terse statement issued Friday the union warned government not to privatise the Freeport before a new collective agreement is agreed upon.
Freeport workers have been without a collective agreement since June 2003 when the previous agreement expired.
The UHM also wants a written commitment from government that Freeport workers’ rights and conditions would be safeguarded in the eventuality of the port being privatised.
The Freeport is a leading transhipment hub in the Mediterranean, handling 1.3 million TEUs (the measurement used to calculate the number of containers that pass through a port) during 2003.
It handles a range of activities, namely container handling, industrial storage and oil products handling.
Only recently the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) chose Malta Freeport to serve as its hub port in the Mediterranean.
This new service is expected to generate a throughput of approximately 150,000 TEUs per annum, representing more than 10 percent of the Freeport’s existing business. The Iranian shipping line is currently the largest commercial shipping company in the Middle East and is presently ranked 25 in the world.
At about the same time that the Iranian line started to operate, other lines were stopped by the Freeport. The Epic service provided by P&O Nedlloyd and the OEG line were stopped because according to the Freeport management: “It was not possible for the Freeport to accommodate the service at the times requested and in the meantime contracts were signed with other shipping companies.”
The change of lines irked importers and industrialists that have since had to change shipping plans.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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