The government is scheduled to establish Taiwan Port Co by 2012, which would operate the nation’s major international seaports in a corporate management style, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
The ministry said the change was proposed in compliance with the national policy to reorganize the central government’s agencies, adding that it was also seen as a way to salvage the global ranking of the Port of Kaohsiung, the nation’s principal seaport, which had fallen out of the international top 10 in 2008.
Based on the preliminary plan from the ministry’s Department of Navigation and Aviation, all of the nation’s major international seaports will be the branches of Taiwan Port Co, including the Port of Kaohsiung, Port of Keelung, Port of Taichung and Hualien Port.
The plan will divide the operations of the seaports into two parts, the ministry said. The part that involves government authority will be handled by the ministry’s Port Bureau. Taiwan Port Co, on the other hand, will be in charge of managing the seaports, such as attracting investments from overseas. The plan will also aim to solve the issue of aging seaport employees by reorganizing seaport personnel, the ministry said.
Currently, the average age of seaport employees is 53. Of the 4,000 seaport employees, the ministry plans to transfer about 700 of them to the Port Bureau, while the rest will be working for the port company.
Regarding the assets and properties currently owned by harbor bureaus in the above-stated seaports, the Department of Navigation and Aviation said it is planning to recruit a consulting firm to examine some of the issues, including the proportion of assets that can be transferred to the port company. When asked whether the calculation methods for the volumes of cargo and containers handled, which are two important indicators of competitiveness, could be changed since all the seaports will be managed by the new entity, the department said issues of this kind would need further discussion.
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