07 March 2008
Northern Ireland's four main publicly owned ports will cease to be public corporations under proposals to allow them the freedom to borrow privately without it being counted as public sector debt.
But the regional development minister, Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy, said privatisation of the Belfast, Derry, Warrenpoint and Coleraine ports was ruled out.
Following the completion of the ports policy review, Murphy said: 'I have decided that the trust ports should be given a range of extended commercial powers. To maximise the value of these additional powers, it is vital that the trust ports are no longer subject to the constraints of the public expenditure system. I therefore intend to seek that they should cease to be public corporations. They must, however, operate in an accountable and transparent manner.'
Nigel Smyth, director of the CBI in Northern Ireland, welcomed the move. He told Public Finance: 'It's what we were pushing for. We have not been arguing for privatisation. After the draft Budget [in November], we complained that it didn't even mention the ports. They are very successful, but need more flexibility and freedom. But the devil is in the detail and we need to see how the accountability will work.'
A determination on whether the ports can be declassified as public corporations will now be made by the Office for National Statistics.
PFmar2008
