The disinvestment of public sector Container Corporation of India (Concor) has been derailed on account of internal differences over the proposed move.
“The process has been derailed as the Railways Ministry has reservations about bringing on board a strategic investor into the company," a government official said.
The Union Cabinet had given its nod for the disinvestment of a 30.8 per cent government stake in Concor to a strategic buyer way back in November 2019. The government holds a 54.8 per cent stake in the firm. Concor is a dominant player in the container terminal order business with around 60 terminals across the country.
The department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) may soon approach renew efforts at inter-ministerial consensus. However, the reservations of the Indian Railways and issues related to the new land-license fee policy could hamper the process.
DIPAM had initially hoped to initiate the Concor strategic sale by January 2024.
Concor’s disinvestment process was earlier stalled due to a delay on the part of the railroads in bringing out a new land licencing policy. Last September, the union cabinet had given its nod to the new land-licensing policy, which entailed cutting down the land-licensing fee by 75 per cent to 1.5 per cent of the land value for cargo-related businesses.
With Concor's disinvestment off the table for now, the centre's disinvestment target of Rs 51,000 crore for this fiscal will come under further strain as this sale alone was expected to yield over Rs 12,000 crore.