Stating that the Railways required a staggering Rs 19,000-crore investmentper annum, he said that they needed private sector to supplement theirefforts.

However, total privatisation of the Railways in the near future was ruledout by S Suryanarayanan, additional member (planning), Railway Board. Hesaid that there was a distinction between privatisation and private sectorparticipation.

He said that potential for logistic-based partnerships between the Railwaysand the private sector existed in the conception and execution of high-speedrail corridors and dedicated heavy-haul freight corridors Noting thatprivate sector investment has been disappointing, Suryanarayanan said thatthe overall investment in infrastructure in terms of GDP declined from 5.4per cent in 1991-92 to 4.6 per cent in 1997-98. While public sectorinvestment declined from 4 to 3 per cent, private investment failed to fillthe gap. It rose from 1.4 per cent to only 1.6 per cent during the period.Citing the example of road sector, he said private sector investment in thehad so far been "halting and poor".

He said that public funds in the form of concessions, tax exemptions,subsidies, equity participation, grants, guarantees, would only help privatesector to prosper at the expense of public welfare in the name ofprivatisation.

Calling for a change in the very organisation and structure of the Railways,the additional member said that public-private partnerships should be on anequal footing and the bureaucracy should shed its big brother attitude.

Concor looking for tech tie-up
The Container Corporation of India (Concor) is looking for technical tie-upsin order to get into high-asset areas. Concor is the onlyPSU under therailway ministry to have divested.

The company is planning to set up SPVs with port and shipping companies andalso the Indian Railways. The railways undertaking is already using theexpertise of Port of Singapore Authority, P&O Ports Australia to expand itsport operations, said Karan Ahuja, director, marketing and operations,Concor.

For asset formation, the company plans to make its containers, terminals andwagons more customised.