This becomes possible to a great degree with the establishment terminal operators that are able to serve marine carrier alliances and intermodal transport to the hinterlands in a highly efficient manner.113
A dependable revenue stream in a public port requires that the port authority be a landlord who manages the port assets in the public interest by leasing land and infrastructure to port operators in an efficient manner, and with regard to equity. It requires that port operators be located in the port and lease the land and infrastructure in a way that they are able to supply all necessary container terminal services for calling marine carriers.114
A fundamental requirement for developing a good revenue stream is that the traditional administration of ports needs to be restructured to separate the landlord function from that of the port operator. Port authorities, in most cases, should be primarily landlords and work towards ensuring that port land and lease revenue be in some way equivalent to the its market value.115
Privatization
People often think that a service performed by a public company is going to be of a lower quality and that the way to improve the service is to privatize it. Privatization, however, is not synonymous better productivity or quality. Better service has more to do with an organization's competence and their ability to engage in commercial enterprise. Private sector organizations,on average are more efficient than public sector organizations. Privatization comes in many shapes and forms. It is not limited to the transfer of ownership of property and assets from the public to the private sector. The determination of the extent to which a public port may move towards privatization depends on the nature of its activities and its particular situation. In general, privatization is the transfer of ownership and control of an existing enterprise, activity or service from the public to the private sector. Privatization is complete when the entire ownership of the public port's existing interests are transferred or sold to a private sector organization. In this case, it means that all land and assets are transferred to full private ownership and that the private sector organization fully controls and manages the enterprise.116
In the U.S., a form of partial privatization is the method most ports have chosen. This is a partial transfer where only a portion of the ownership is transferred. Leasing a container terminal to a joint public/private entity or a private entity is a frequent form of partial privatization. There is no change in the ownership status of fixed assets that remain with the port authority.117 It all depends upon the negotiations and agreements reached between the public/private partners.
Findings
The institutional arrangements in the container terminals that were looked at provide significant information for future consideration. The areas considered most important for change at the local level include terminal infrastructure and superstructure financing; negotiated leasing of container terminals over a long period with a “win-win” type of agreement; the use of new information technologies to make terminals more user friendly; and improved landside access and intermodal facilities. Each port region is, in its own right, a public good. Any new type of institutional arrangement should reflect the socio-economic needs of both the port region and the nation as a whole.
