Haifa and Ashdod monopolise Israeli box traffic
A ruling by Israels Antitrust Authority that the ports of Haifa and Ashdod act as an oligopoly in container handling has allowed director David Gilo to prohibit the existing port companies from involvement in government plans for new container ports.
The restriction makes it impossible for the ports to take control of any new box terminals in an attempt to prevent their privatisation.
“I intend to order the port companies not to take any action that could frustrate, interfere with, or cause difficulty to the entry into the market or the activity of an additional operator of the Bay Port or the South Port,” he said.
He noted that customers in Israel effectively had access to just two container ports, with little effective alternative to Haifa and Ashdod and hence little in the way of competition between them being necessary, since both offer similar services.