Institutional Framework
Institutions & Organizations
In the construction and/or development of container terminals the users, operators, regulators, and infrastructure/superstructure providers need to be involved in the process. All involved interests should participate: government authorities, port authorities, private operators, stowage companies, port concession companies, etc.108 Deregulation of Japanese ports is a very important step, especially given the country's current economic situation. About 80 percent of trade is transported by ship. Maritime transport is Japan's conduit for global trade. Efficient port and container terminal operation plays an important role in keeping trade flowing. It contributes to revenue streams and job stability. Given a choice of competitive ports in the Asia-Pacific region, marine carriers and terminal operators prefer to do business at those ports offering the greatest freedom of operation. They prefer to be able to hire dockworkers, work as port transport operators, and as terminal operators. Other container terminals in many competitive Asian ports offer 24-hour cargo handling, the ability to shift ships between berths, and include alliance carriers. Past container terminal practices in Japan has not offered this freedom of operation. According to the White Paper on Shipping published by the Ministry of Transport in July 1998, Japan's highly regulated port and harbor transport system has caused Japan's standing in Asia to slip, precipitating a shift away from Japanese ports and towards competitive Asian ports.109
Policy Decisions
On December 17th, 1999, the Ministry of Transport(MOT)'s Council for Ports and Harbors submitted a report to the Transport Minister with recommendations for the improvement of Japan's ports and harbors. The report recommended that the nation's port and harbor administration take action: 1) with constructive administrative measures from a wider-ranging nationwide point of view; 2) give stronger support to regional port authorities'independent initiatives; and 3) take measures to clarify and enhance the efficiency of the nation's port administrative policy.110 Many ports in countries around the world have been either privatized or corporatized to be competitive with other regional ports. Freight transportation companies are more likely to provide seamless, intermodal transport operations improving links with other transport modes by consultative, strategic planning across modes. Public/private partnerships in funding infrastructure developments should improve competition with regional ports, and improve trade flows through key gateways ports.111
Landlord Ports
A 1997 world review of the top 100 container ports shows that 88 out of 100 conform to the Landlord Port model, in which the Port Authority retains ultimate property rights over port land, and fulfils all regulatory functions, while commercial operations are carried out by private operators.112
The basic restructuring of port institutions to allow port authorities to carry out a landlord function and leave the supply of port services and cargo handling to port users can come about under several organizational structures involving private enterprise, related bodies and port authorities. The overall purpose is to have the productivity of ports be determined by competition. This includes the intermodal transport of containers from origin to destination and to ensure that the carriers have control over the costs throughout the movement of the containers.
