Participation of Private Investors in Container Terminal Operation: Influence of Global Terminal Operators (original) (raw)
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Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2002
This paper applies a 'port function matrix' to analyse the administrative and ownership structures of major container ports in Asia. The relative efficiency of these ports is then assessed using the cross-sectional and panel data versions of the 'stochastic frontier model'. The estimated efficiency measures are broadly similar for the two versions of the model tested. From the results of the analysis, it is concluded that the size of a port or terminal is closely correlated with its efficiency and that some support exists for the claim that the transformation of ownership from public to private sector improves economic efficiency. While this provides some justification for the many programmes in Asian ports which aim to attract private capital into both existing and new facilities, it is also concluded that the level of market deregulation is an important intervening variable which may also exert a positive influence.
The impact of competition on container port (in)efficiency
There are many studies on container port efficiency and that seek to understand what factors , such as technical and scale efficiency, private versus public terminal management or macroeconomic factors, play on the efficiency score of a given port. There are fewer studies that focus on the role played by the inter-port competitive environment. This role remains difficult to assess. In fact, on the one hand, a port subject to high inter-port competition may record higher efficiency scores due to the pressure from the competitive environment. On the other hand, a port subject to high competition may be forced to over-invest and could therefore records a lower efficiency score. This article investigates this issue and examines how the degree of competition measured at different levels (local, regional and global level) impacts the efficiency score of a given container port. To do so, we implement a truncated regression with a parametric bootstrapping model. The model applied to information gathered for 200 container ports in 2007 and 2010 leads to the following conclusions: port efficiency decreases with competition intensity when measured in a range of 400–800 km (regional level); and the effect from competition is not significant when competition is measured at a local (less than 300 km) or at a global (more than 800 km) level. Estimates also show a tendency for ports who invested from 2007 to 2010 to experience a general decrease in efficiency scores, an element which could be explained by the time lag between the investment and the subsequent potential increase in container throughput.
International Journal of Religion, 2024
Sri Lanka, strategically located in South Asian region has the potential to become a significant mega hub for international maritime trade. However, the current port infrastructure, particularly at Colombo Port, faces capacity constraints that limit its ability to accommodate larger vessels and manage increasing container traffic. This study evaluates the impact of private sector participation on the operational efficiency of Port of Colombo's container terminals-Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), and Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT). Using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the study found that private sector involvement significantly enhances terminal efficiency. SAGT, a privately operated terminal, exhibited the highest overall efficiency, while CICT demonstrated the highest efficiency and productivity. JCT, though publicly operated Terminal showed commendable performance but lagged behind the private terminals. The findings emphasize the value of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in optimizing port operations, offering critical insights for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to strengthen Sri Lanka's maritime economy.
Journal of Economics and Business, 2005
A major objective of port privatization is to improve the efficiency of the sector. This paper presents the pros and cons of port privatization and provides an empirical examination of the relationship between privatization and relative efficiency within the container port industry. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is justified as the chosen methodology for analysing the relative efficiency of container ports and is applied in a variety of configurations to industry panel data. The paper concludes with the rejection of the hypothesis that greater private sector involvement in the container port sector irrevocably leads to improved efficiency.
Private sector participation in Asian ports
2003
Asian container ports suffer from a number of problems including insufficient port and/or terminal capacity, inefficient management and bureaucratic administration. This may be due in part to the fact that the majority of the region's ports are controlled and/or operated by public entities. To deal with these problems, port authorities of a number of countries in the region have launched programmes that aim to attract private capital into both the existing and new facilities. As a consequence, these schemes have kick-started a revolutionary new operating milieu where inter-and even intra-port competition is rife. In many instances, this has engendered the perception that organi sational restructuring (including privatisation) is not only desirable, but necessary. A key claim made with respect to organisational reforms is that the transformation of ownership from public to private sector will improve economic efficiency, as well as general welfare. Associated economic theories and existing empirical studies, however, fail to establish clear-cut evidence supporting this claim. Indeed, econometric analysis of the relative productive efficiency of the port sector pre-and post-privatisation seems to suggest that ownership itself does not seem to be categorically related to efficiency in port operations. It may well be the case, as proposed by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, 1995a), that the apparent absence of a clear-cut theoretical and empirical relationship may reflect, to some extent, the unique socio-political situation in which these business entities undertake their economic activities. Against this conceptual background, this paper analyses the administrative and ownership structures of the major container ports in Asia by relating them to the 'port function matrix' and assesses their relative efficiency.
Determinants and strategies for the development of container terminals
Journal of Productivity Analysis, 2012
The paper examines an important player in the container industry: the container terminal. We evaluate how terminal efficiency operation is affected by the following factors: terminal type, operation type, scale efficiency and returns to scale. In so doing, we test how the typology and operation of terminals and the level of scale efficiency that a terminal can achieve, represent significant factors in the development and growth of the container terminal industry. The analysis is based on the assessment of 165 container terminals worldwide. We develop the estimation through the application of stochastic frontier analysis. We demonstrate that container terminals are more efficient than multipurpose terminals, and that, compared with local operators, global terminal operators do not have a dominant position in international maritime trade in terms of productivity and efficiency. However, global terminal operators appear to be more dominant than local operators when we examine the Mediterranean Basin. In the final part of the paper we suggest how resource-constrained container terminals may improve their scale efficiency and identify general strategies related to container terminal investments.