Port Competitiveness and Master Planning

Port Competitiveness

Interportuaria Competition

Competition interportuaria occurs between different ports to secure traffic.

Intraportuaria Competition

Competition intraportuaria occurs between operators within the same port to secure specific traffic.

Collaborations exist in sectors such as: education, commercial research, and management agreements. Infrastructure examples include the rail links for Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta.

Maritime Operator Strategies

• Port-to-port operations.
• Optimize economies of scale and shipping lines.
• Specialized services to fulfill changing needs.

Main Ship-owners

Examples include: Maersk Lines, MSC, Evergreen Group, CMA-CGM.

Ship-owner Types

• Global: Operating on main routes with alliances feeding world hubs.
• Emerging: Companies intending to become large, evolving regional services.
• Regionals: Actors concentrated in base markets, connecting them with the rest of the world.

Main Traffics

The three main corridors are transpacific, transatlantic, and Europe-Asia. These are served by global ship-owners using large container vessels.

Feeders

Routes running north-south connect main traffics. These involve regional or local ship-owners, operating end-to-end and connecting regional hubs with local ones. Regionals serve specialized markets, connecting with local ends, primarily using regional ship-owners.

Module 5: Master Plan

Key Components

• Traffic prospects
• Port capacity and evolution
• Infrastructure

Elaborating the Master Plan

This involves: cost-benefit analysis, hydraulic modeling, navigation and simulation, geotechnics, and traffic trends.

Traffic Planning

Includes port development planning and income budgeting, which is important for the financial evaluation of the plan.

Methodologies for Traffic Provisions

• Statistical data
• Interviews and polls
• Macroeconomic analysis
• Industry reports

Offer Capacity

This is performed by quantifying all terminals and port facilities that define a port. To estimate capacity, consider:

• Docking line
• Area capacity
• Reception capacity/land delivery

Steps for Physical Planning

• New port geometry
• Project management
• Budget
• Resources assignment

The approach should be based on proposal and action, not reaction. Strategic planning serves as a management tool to monitor and contemplate the factors and forces affecting the current and future environment.