Institutional structure of Canadian ports

Canada's federal government is responsible for ports. Despite this, an integrated national ports system has not been established. The Canadian system includes: the Canada Ports Corporation; Harbour Commissions; and Transport Canada's Public Harbours. These are historic divisions. Following a failed 1970s attempt to place all ports within Transport Canada, in 1983 parliament opted for a Crown corporation model in establishing the Canada Ports Corporation for Canada's major ports. This paper addresses the question of whether, in today's increasingly competitive environment, a more integrated and businesslike national system of ports is required. Alternative systems range from centralization to regionalization and enhanced 'commercialization' of local ports to privatization. A suggested alternative for Canada includes incorporating all commercial ports within the Canada Ports Corporation, using a regional system for planning, and augmenting local autonomy of financially self-sufficient ports by making them crown corporations. Eventual privatization of the expanded Canada Port Corporation is also considered.     

Privatization trends at the world's top-100 container ports

Over recent years, the role of the private sector in seaports has been greatly expanded. Yet, in practice, the extent of privatization in ports can vary significantly, in part due to the different methods employed to bring about private sector participation. This paper identifies and analyses, through a survey of ports, recent trends in regard to privatization at the world's top-100 container ports. The survey has benefitted from, and seeks to extend, a previous survey undertaken by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH). Findings suggest that, although the influence of private sector actors in ports is growing, the role of public sector agencies also remains significant.     

Privatization trends at the world's top-100 container ports

Over recent years, the role of the private sector in seaports has been greatly expanded. Yet, in practice, the extent of privatization in ports can vary significantly, in part due to the different methods employed to bring about private sector participation. This paper identifies and analyses, through a survey of ports, recent trends in regard to privatization at the world's top-100 container ports. The survey has benefitted from, and seeks to extend, a previous survey undertaken by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH). Findings suggest that, although the influence of private sector actors in ports is growing, the role of public sector agencies also remains significant.     

The privatization of Polish ports—the present situation and outlook for the future

The Polish economy is going through fundamental changes from a central planning to a market economy. The main aim of this transition is the privatization process which has to change the structure of Polish economy. Privatization has to establish more favourable ways of utilizing the productive capacity of state enterprises and create better conditions to compete on the market. The Privatization process for Polish state enterprises was defined in the Act on the Privatization of State Enterprises of 13 July 1990. According to this Act state enterprises can be privatized in capital or liquidation methods. The capital method has been applied to the privatization of Polish ports. In 1991 the major Polish ports were transformed into a State Treasury shareholder company. The holding company was used in the first stage of privatization. Gdynia was the first port which started this process building the real model of holding. Another important element connected with the structural transformation of Polish ports is the separation of operational and management roles. According to the Act on Ports, the Port Authority is also responsible for the development of the commercial, industrial and distribution services. This Act will also enable Poland to adapt economic and legal regulations which are similar to those in the European Union ports.     

The privatization of Polish ports—the present situation and outlook for the future

The Polish economy is going through fundamental changes from a central planning to a market economy. The main aim of this transition is the privatization process which has to change the structure of Polish economy. Privatization has to establish more favourable ways of utilizing the productive capacity of state enterprises and create better conditions to compete on the market. The Privatization process for Polish state enterprises was defined in the Act on the Privatization of State Enterprises of 13 July 1990. According to this Act state enterprises can be privatized in capital or liquidation methods. The capital method has been applied to the privatization of Polish ports. In 1991 the major Polish ports were transformed into a State Treasury shareholder company. The holding company was used in the first stage of privatization. Gdynia was the first port which started this process building the real model of holding. Another important element connected with the structural transformation of Polish ports is the separation of operational and management roles. According to the Act on Ports, the Port Authority is also responsible for the development of the commercial, industrial and distribution services. This Act will also enable Poland to adapt economic and legal regulations which are similar to those in the European Union ports.     

(Law for the Promotion of Competition and Consumer Protection) was passed in early 1995. The impact this law will eventually have, however, is uncertain because rules for its implementation have not yet been established.

Governments in their port reform efforts have experimented with liberalization and commercialization to improve port operations. Because of their failure to meet expectations or because of changing competitive environments, these options have generally been discarded in favour of privatization. In mature large-volume port systems, privatization was a relatively obvious solution, because interport or interterminal competition would be achieved to the extent that the monopolistic tendencies characteristic of their predecessor organizations would cease to exist. In countries with a limited number of ports having relatively small cargo volumes, however, the case is quite different. These countries would have to pursue strategies that would still induce competition in spite of their limited cargo volumes if they hoped to achieve the same privatization benefits and market disciplines enjoyed in other countries. This article examines the port reform approaches used in three distinct competitive settings;the experiences in these countries offer some guidance on how to assure that ports will feel competitive pressures even under conditions of limited cargo volumes.     

Private sector responses to port privatization in India

Indian ports offer good opportunities for investors prepared to take a long-term view, and some successful small-scale private contracts are already in place. But strategic direction from the centre is required to accelerate and broaden the privatization process, and ensure that private interest in the ports sector is maintained.     

港口的区域垄断和竞争:圆周模型

港口具有一定的地理垄断性,同时港口竞争也日益加剧,交叉腹地日益扩大。区域垄断和竞争成为港口共同的发展特征,协调两者之间的关系对于港口产业发展具有重要意义。圆周模型对于分析港口产业经济特性非常恰当。通过运用圆周模型来理解港口的区域垄断和竞争特性,可以为实现港口产业规模型竞争的公共政策制定提供基础性的理论依据。具体的政策建议包括港口业务的垂直分解及构建地主港模式、加快港口民营化进程、在放松规制的同时重建规制及推动形成区域内邻近港口间的协同竞争关系。     

The problems faced by Indian ports today

Indian ports require substantial physical modernization, but their poor performance can also be attributed to administrative problems. Institutional change is both a necessary condition for privatization and one of its principal benefits.     

Strategies of developing part administration in Ireland

This paper reivews a programme recently undertaken by the Irish Government aimed at reforming the administration of Irish ports. Arising from that programme, and as a result of legislative changes, eight key ports were vested as commerical harbour companies (prior to this they were administered by large Boards and were very restricted in their ability to perform commercially). The context for the paper is the global trend towards port reformation, and the paper draws particuarly on the effects of the privatization of UK ports. The paper starts with a review of the role of parts, both generally and within the context of Ireland's growing, geographically peripheral, economy. Observations of the UK ports privatization process are next considered. The history, development and recent performance of Irish ports, together with port investment strategies, are critiqued and the background to the recent programme of administrative reform undertaken by the Irish Government concerning the ports is reviewed. Various observations from a number of sources (including 12 interviews by the authors with key actors in the sector) on the reform process are discussed. It is concluded that there is no uniformity of opinion as to the suitability of the chosen model for Irish ports administration and that it is too soon to judge whether it has been a success (the eight ports were commercialized in March 1997). The paper concludes that, given the critical role of ports within the Irish economy, the situation should be periodically reviewed to ascertain the current applicability of the extant port administration model.     

Strategies of developing part administration in Ireland

This paper reivews a programme recently undertaken by the Irish Government aimed at reforming the administration of Irish ports. Arising from that programme, and as a result of legislative changes, eight key ports were vested as commerical harbour companies (prior to this they were administered by large Boards and were very restricted in their ability to perform commercially). The context for the paper is the global trend towards port reformation, and the paper draws particuarly on the effects of the privatization of UK ports. The paper starts with a review of the role of parts, both generally and within the context of Ireland's growing, geographically peripheral, economy. Observations of the UK ports privatization process are next considered. The history, development and recent performance of Irish ports, together with port investment strategies, are critiqued and the background to the recent programme of administrative reform undertaken by the Irish Government concerning the ports is reviewed. Various observations from a number of sources (including 12 interviews by the authors with key actors in the sector) on the reform process are discussed. It is concluded that there is no uniformity of opinion as to the suitability of the chosen model for Irish ports administration and that it is too soon to judge whether it has been a success (the eight ports were commercialized in March 1997). The paper concludes that, given the critical role of ports within the Irish economy, the situation should be periodically reviewed to ascertain the current applicability of the extant port administration model.     

论海洋经济的发展与辽宁海域港口布局

近年来,辽宁省的海洋经济取得了长足的发展,这为辽宁海域港口的合理布局奠定了良好的基础,但同时各港口间的竞争也日趋激烈,阻碍了辽宁省海洋经济的发展和港口的建设。因此,有效地协调辽宁海域各港口间的矛盾,促进辽宁海域港口的合理布局是今后加快发展辽宁海洋经济的关键。     

Debt—equity conversion and port privatization

Port privatization has been perceived as an instrument for the improvement in port management operations and marketing, yet it also provides a major opportunity for public debt reduction by converting debt incurred in port development into equity or other assets. There are many different ways in which debt, particularly foreign debt, can be converted. It can be directly converted into equity, it can be swapped for other debt, converted into various portfolio investments or exchanged for future services or exports. In recent years, 'ecological' swaps have also been considered in which some debt is written off in return for improvements in environmental management. This paper reviews the reasons for port privatization, the different methods for port ownership financing, and the role debt-equity conversion could play in it.     

Ports and shipping in Mozambique: current concerns and policy options

This paper explores the current state of ports and shipping in Mozambique, and reviews it in the context of a past history of civil war followed by radical macro-economic adjustment, and more recent concerns and debates around the deregulation and privatization of the transport industry. More specifically, it addresses the key issue of the relationship between shipping and both broader and local economic development, taking account of the needs of major industry and the need to sustain local livelihoods. It reveals that the situation in Mozambique is a product of both local and global pressures, moulded by economic and political forces. It further indicates that, while there are now positive opportunities for coastal shipping, the capacity for developing inland shipping appears to be very limited. Future growth consequently depends on local participation, training and skills development and the broader social, economic, and transport infrastructure.     

Fuzzy empty containers excess estimation as an economic indicator—the case of the north Adriatic port system

Today, approximately 90% of the world’s cargo is moved by ships and almost all general cargoes are transported in containers. Worldwide container traffic has increased over the last 20 years by 7% annually, and containerization has begun to seriously impact global trade patterns. As a result, container terminals have become very important nodes in the world’s supply chain. In this article, we have highlighted the link between the total and empty container traffic and the global economy. By way of example, we have analysed the empty container traffic in north Adriatic ports in the years before and during the global economic crisis and in a period of stability after the major economic slump. We used a fuzzy multicriteria algorithm to find out how the global crisis, which has affected ports, influences the number of excess empty containers at the terminals. We show that these factors, in particular the change of the global financial and economic situation, have different repercussions to the ports of the north Adriatic: less serious effects upon the ports that are well connected locally and substantial consequences for the ports that are well connected globally.     

Impact of politics,economic events and port policies on the evolution of maritime traffic in Chinese ports

The Chinese government has been exploring various paths to find a direction that better suits China’s national conditions during the past 60 years. Meanwhile, a series of political and economic events and policy transformations have had different effects on the port industry. This article attempts to ascertain how these events and port policies have influenced Chinese port traffic through an empirical study on data covering 1952–2009. The findings suggest that foreign trade has been the prime driver of the throughput of Chinese ports. The increase in the ports’ throughput has enabled an increase in domestic demand and the urgent need for further port investment. Chinese port throughput has been subject to multiple shocks. The Great Leap Forward¹ is found to have had the largest, but only a short-term impact. China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, however, led to a longer and exclusive effect on ports, with little observed effect on the other variables. The reform of port governance is shown to have had a more lasting positive effect on port throughput than physical investment. However, these latter effects are minor, the economic and political factors remain the primary driving factors of port throughput.     

The strategic role of ports in regional development: conceptualising the experience from Australia

Regional ports, as infrastructure in regions, influence transport and regional development policies and planning. The interaction and involvement of regional ports with their stakeholders in the region are pivotal. The conundrum on what constitutes a regional port and thus its region has further complicated this limited researched area. In the extant literature, port and region relationship mainly centres on major metropolitan ports, and pays little heed to regional ports. In this context, this study investigates on how the Australian regional ports can be better involved in regional development. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to explore the Australian regional port stakeholders’ perceptions on port’s role in regional development through 38 semi-structured telephone interviews. Thematic analysis of data assisted by a mixture of NVivo software and manual techniques proposes a conceptual model that may assist policy-making. The key findings suggest that symbiotic growths of ports and concerned regions accelerate regional development. To contribute to regional development, the Australian regional ports can be proactive in building collaboration with regional organisations. The findings have major implications for port managers and port policy-makers for developing a region-oriented long-term port planning and for creating environment for Australian regional ports for regional resource configuration.     

现代港口建设与运营中的竞争

从港口所有制形式，港口竞争的层次。影响港口竞争的主要因素等方面，论述了现代港口的主要竞争手段。指出除了地理条件不可改变外，其他条件都可以通过各种竞争手段来实现。竞争与合作是现代港口竞争的新趋势。     

China' maritime developments

Development of ports and shipping in China are continuing at a phenomenal pace. They are now entering a second phase in these developments. With basic capacity to handle China's growing foreign trade established. China's ports and shipping are now being ratinalized in terms of inland infrastructure and intermodal networks, optimum trade flows, foreign alliances, and physical forms or consolidation of cargo. These developments are driven by the lack of a large, deep water ocean fleet on one hand and limited water depths at many major ports. Similarly, the extension of economic development to the inland ports of China has become a priority as has the effective integration of Hong Kong and gradual opening of direct shipping across the Taiwan Straits.     

基于AHP-RS的沿海都市带主要港口评价实证分析

区域港口群资源整合已成为当前航运业发展热点之一,文章从港口规模角度,研究区域范围意义下的主要港口评价问题。以改进后的港口吞吐量和集装箱吞吐量指标为基础,构建区域范围意义下的主要港口评价指标体系,以国内外沿海都市带为例,运用AHP-RS法对都市带内主要港口进行相关评价分析。为客观认识和评价港口自身相对规模水平提供参考,也为沿海都市带框架下的区域港口群有序规划发展提供了依据和思路。通过实例验证了AHP-RS综合评价法在港口评价应用中的科学有效性,值得进一步推广。