Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Maritime Board (Amendment) Bill, 2026, introduced in the assembly on Wednesday, proposes to restructure the state maritime board with the chief minister as its chairperson. Representatives of the ports, fisheries, industry, finance, revenue, law and coastal security departments will take decisions under a single framework, chief minister V D Satheesan said while introducing the Bill.“Earlier, if a decision had to be made, neither the board nor the port department had the authority to take it independently; everything had to move across all these departments. Now the board itself includes representatives from all of them,” he said.The bill gives the board greater powers over minor ports and inland vessels, and provides for a state maritime land bank, port area development authorities, public-private partnerships and long-term investment arrangements. Though the Inland Vessels Act of 2021 made the board the authority for inland vessels, it lacked the institutional mechanism and legal support to discharge that role, Satheesan said.The amendment to Section 2 incorporates the board’s responsibilities into law, while the change to Section 3 empowers it to act faster. “If an investment proposal comes, the Maritime Board can take a decision in a single sitting,” he said.He also said each port will have a port area development authority. The spatial plan prepared by that authority will be notified under the town and country planning law, confining development to designated, planned zones, he said.An amendment to Section 22 allows public-private partnership concessions of up to 45 years, with government approval after investment evaluation. Longer tenures are expected to raise tender revenue.A key provision is the state maritime land bank, which will use govt-owned land to develop non-major ports and maritime industries.Satheesan said govt, constrained by limited funds, would participate in projects by contributing land while private investors, public sector enterprises or other agencies provided the remaining investment. Different investment models, including the CIAL model, would be explored.“In some cases, the govt will act as a facilitator. In others, it will become a partner by contributing land. We may not be able to invest cash, but the govt will be part of every venture,” he said.The govt expects the bill to attract private investment and create lakhs of jobs. It will also help implement ‘Mission Samudra’, which aims to turn the state into a port-led maritime hub linking its 600km coastline, two international ports, a container terminal and 18 minor ports.
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