Ministry sees privatization of 20% in NCSP possible in future

MOSCOW, Oct 29 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Transport Ministry thinks that privatization of 20% in Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) is possible in the future, but position of several ministries should be taken into account, Yury Tsvetkov, deputy transport minister and head of the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport, told reporters on Tuesday.

“A state privatization program exists, it is amended and revised each year. I see no reason for that not to happen, we may consider the issue of privatization in the future as well as privatization of other facilities,” he said.

“But this is not for the Transport Ministry alone to make the complex decision. Positions of several ministries are taken into account, including the Finance Ministry, the Economic Development Ministry, and others. The Finance Ministry usually…assumes market positions that these facilities should be privatized. Not only NCSP, but other facilities as well.”

NCSP is Europe’s third largest port operator and Russia’s leading stevedore company by cargo traffic. Oil pipeline monopoly Transneft owns 62% in NCSP, the Federal State Property Management Agency owns 20%, and subsidiaries of Russian Railways own 5.3%, with free-float accounting for the rest.

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