Belfast Harbour Commissioners has published its proposals for a flotation of Belfast port. Chief executive Mr Gordon Irwin said the recommendations for a public/private partnership should go some way to meeting concerns expressed by Assembly members about the proposed flotation. "I think we have moved significantly between the public interest and what is needed to ensure a successful flotation," Mr Irwin said.
The office of the Harbour Commissioners had previously wanted the sale to include nearly 2,000 acres of surrounding land, but it is now recommending that 1,190 acres of land form part of a flotation package. This includes land currently occupied by the port itself, as well as the Titanic Quarter, the terminal at the City Airport and the D5 development site near Tillysburn intersection. The remaining 760 acres of land - which is on lease to Shorts and to Harland & Wolff - would remain in the public sector. Mr Irwin said that under the revised proposals, the public sector would realise the full market value of the lands being sold, while giving the newly privatised company valuable revenue streams to develop the port's core business. The commissioners recommended that the Northern Ireland government should retain a maximum stake of 25 per cent in the company, and that a special share should be held by the Department of Regional Development.
Two years ago, British Chancellor Mr Gordon Brown committed £70 million sterling (€113 million) from a flotation of the port to be spent on improvements to the North's roads. The Commissioners say that all the proceeds from the sale should be retained by the local administration.
A final decision about the future of the port will be made by the Minister for Regional Development, Mr Peter Robinson, who has said that privatisation is not the only option. "In order to facilitate the decision-making process, I plan to present an options paper to the Department of Regional Development and the Assembly in the very near future," Mr Robinson said. "If it is decided that a private/public partnership is the best way forward, it will be important to ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect the public interest. If, on the other hand, it is decided that the port should remain in the public sector, then it will be equally important to ensure that it is given the maximum commercial freedom."
