The development of river-based intermodal transport: the case of Ukraine

It should be noted that the (inland waterway transport) IWT in Ukraine currently is in its infancy in comparison with other land based transport means (rail and road) and with other countries that possess navigable rivers. This paper is an extension of the research initiated by Grushevska and Notteboom (2015) where the concepts of intermediacy and centrality were introduced in order to assess the role of Ukraine in the global and regional transport networks. The list of key obstacles for Ukraine’s intermediacy function included IWT related barriers such as: (i) deficient inland waterway infrastructure, (ii) high IWT costs (fees for bridges, locks etc.) and (iii) pilotage charges. To date the transportation to/from ports is mainly fulfilled by road or by rail based multimodal transport solutions. We present the unutilized potential of Ukrainian IWT that needs to be efficiently exploited for the benefit of the national economy and national transport system. This study intends to enrich the limited academic research on IWT systems in a transition stage, as exemplified by the case of Ukraine

A theory on the co-evolution of seaports with application to container terminal development in the Rhine-Scheldt Delta

How do seaports evolve in relation to each other? Recent studies in port economics and transport geography focused on how supply chain integration has structurally changed the competitive landscape in which individual ports and port actors operate. Port regionalization has been addressed as the corresponding new phase in the spatial and functional evolution of port systems. However, these studies lack theoretical foundations that allow us to empirically assess both the role of the institutional context and of strategic agency in the competitive (spatial and functional) evolution of regional (integrated) port systems. The paper presents a theoretical framework to analyze and understand the co- evolution of seaports in a regional context by making use of the concept of windows of opportunity. The empirical part will unravel the role of seaport-based co-evolution in the processes aimed at positioning market players and ports on the container scene in the Rhine-Scheldt Delta.co-evolution, seaports, regionalization, institutions, economic geography

Indonesian Port Cluster Simulation Game: Understanding Complex System Through Simulation Game

Port Cluster is a collection of interdependent and involved companies in related activities in the same port area. Port clusters can be categorized as infrastructure. One of the characteristics of infrastructure is the number of parties involved in a problem, referred to as a Multi-Actor System. In a multi-actor system, policymaking becomes more complicated because it cannot be based on only one party's interests. Policymaking in this domain requires contemporary approaches where one of them is Simulation Gaming. This paper shows how Simulation Gaming can serve as an approach to comprehend the Indonesian Port Cluster, a multi-actor system

Incorporation of Dry Ports into the National Transport Policy: A Proposal for International Trade Acceleration

The Malaysian National Transport Policy (NTP) aims to develop a conducive ecosystem for the transport sector, facilitate seamless cargo movement, promote public mobility, enhance public transport competitiveness, and build an intelligent and green transport system. However, the policy does not comprehensively cover the lack of assimilation of inland components with the seaport system. To close the gaps, this paper thoroughly discusses the three main objectives proposed for the study: first, to understand the current practicability status of the Malaysian NTP; second, to identify policy limitations concerning the integration of seaports and dry ports in Malaysia; third, to give constructive insights for future strategies to upgrade the Malaysian NTP for national and international trade development. This study adopted a traditional literature review method incorporated with an integrative literature review analysis (ILRA) to scrutinise literature analysis. The findings of this paper indicate that Malaysia should develop a novel and comprehensive seaport-inland policy model integrated with the existing NTP model. Integrating dry ports with the seaport system is crucial to determining NTP sustainability and enriching the nation with an effective transportation system

Innovation in infrastructures : an analysis of seaport innovation with an application to Gothenburg

Mestrado em Economia e Gestão de Ciência, Tecnologia e InovaçãoA Inovação tem vindo a revelar-se como uma força de destaque nas economias mundiais. Muitos autores têm vindo a sublinhar a sua importância na rutura do status quo e da sua natureza não-linear e multi-actor. Perante este contexto, as infraestruturas mostraram ser bem-sucedidas para desenvolver e implementar novas inovações, graças também ao suporte dos investimentos estatais. Tendo em conta estas características, o presente estudo foca-se nos portos marítimos, umas das mais antigas infraestruturas existentes. Ao longo dos últimos 60 anos, graças à introdução dos contendores e das ICTs, os portos foram-se tornando protagonistas escondidos de uma revolução logística global. Estes desenvolvimentos podem ser compreendidos à luz dos conceitos de inovação e infraestruturas, assim como da evolução dos portos marítimos, no contexto da história económica baseada numa ótica neo-schumpeteriana. Neste contexto, o presente estudo tem um duplo objetivo: por um lado, fazer uma revisão geral sobre o estado da arte da literatura científica sobre a inovação portuária; por outro lado, deixar um contributo no âmbito da inovação portuária analisando o caso do Porto de Gotemburgo. A análise utiliza duas abordagens diferentes: 1) uma revisão sistemática da literatura existente; 2) e uma abordagem de caso de estudo. Os resultados sugerem que a área de estudo da inovação portuária está ainda muito fragmentada e pouco desenvolvida, embora estejam a emergir clusters de autores. Além disso, o caso do Porto de Gotemburgo mostra como a complexidade dos portos modernos exige uma abordagem holística e sistémica para que se possam interpretar os seus processos inovadores.Innovation has proven to be a leading force in world economies. Several authors have stressed its importance in disrupting the status quo and the complexity of its non-linear and multi-actor processes. Given this context, infrastructures have proven to be successful for developing and implementing new innovations, also thanks to the support of state investments. Keeping in mind these characteristics, this study focuses on seaports, one of the most ancient existing human infrastructures. In the last 60 years, thanks to the introduction of the container and ICTs, seaports have become the main hidden protagonists of a global logistics revolution. These developments are understood with recourse to the concepts of innovation and infrastructure as well as the evolution of seaports in the context of neo-Schumpeterian reasoned economic history. In this context, the aim of this study is twofold: on the one hand, the objective is to outline the state of the art of the existing scientific literature about seaport innovation; on the other hand, this dissertation appraise actual seaport innovation by unpacking a real case in the Port of Gothenburg. This analysis draws on two different approaches: 1) a systematic review of the existing literature; 2) and a case study approach. Results show that the field of innovation in seaports is still highly fragmented and little developed, although clusters of scholarship are emerging. Furthermore, the case of the Port of Gothenburg shows how the complexity of modern seaports requires a holistic, systemic approach in order to understand seaports? inner innovation processes.N/

A Comparative Analysis of Dry Port Operations in Coastal and Landlocked Countries

Malaysia is a coastal country surrounded by sea, while Nepal is a landlocked country with no direct access to the ocean. This paper investigates the challenges faced by dry ports in Malaysia and Nepal and looks into issues concerning the connection of seaports and dry ports both intra-regionally, i.e. within Malaysia, and inter-regionally, i.e. outside of Nepal. The structure of dry port operating systems in these two areas is visibly different. Hence, the relationships between the major nodes in these different geographical regions need to be examined. Face-to-face and telephone interviews with dry port operators, legislative personnel, and public policy stakeholders from both countries were conducted to establish the impediments to dry port operations. Interview session transcripts have been analyzed using grounded theory. This tool is suitable for this paper due to its capacity to identify categories and concepts within the text linked together to form theoretical models. Secondary data have been used to support the primary data collected, to enhance the range and reliability of the findings. The findings indicate challenges such as inadequate connectivity capacity, inefficient border transactions, seaport-dry port integration issues, inefficient economic corridors, insufficient legislative framework for policy and regulation development, and environmental issues faced by the two countries. These challenges have a negative impact on the possibility of dry ports in Malaysia to take full advantage of their potential. Meanwhile, in Nepal, such challenges limit dry port operations since dry ports are the main gateway for the nation’s international trade. This paper recommends strategies for overcoming these challenges and improving the quality of dry port operations, focusing on the provision of sophisticated and modern logistics services to stakeholders in the different geographic landscapes

A Comparative Analysis of Dry Port Operations in Coastal and Landlocked Countries

Malaysia is a coastal country surrounded by sea, while Nepal is a landlocked country with no direct access to the ocean. This paper investigates the challenges faced by dry ports in Malaysia and Nepal and looks into issues concerning the connection of seaports and dry ports both intra-regionally, i.e. within Malaysia, and inter-regionally, i.e. outside of Nepal. The structure of dry port operating systems in these two areas is visibly different. Hence, the relationships between the major nodes in these different geographical regions need to be examined. Face-to-face and telephone interviews with dry port operators, legislative personnel, and public policy stakeholders from both countries were conducted to establish the impediments to dry port operations. Interview session transcripts have been analyzed using grounded theory. This tool is suitable for this paper due to its capacity to identify categories and concepts within the text linked together to form theoretical models. Secondary data have been used to support the primary data collected, to enhance the range and reliability of the findings. The findings indicate challenges such as inadequate connectivity capacity, inefficient border transactions, seaport-dry port integration issues, inefficient economic corridors, insufficient legislative framework for policy and regulation development, and environmental issues faced by the two countries. These challenges have a negative impact on the possibility of dry ports in Malaysia to take full advantage of their potential. Meanwhile, in Nepal, such challenges limit dry port operations since dry ports are the main gateway for the nation’s international trade. This paper recommends strategies for overcoming these challenges and improving the quality of dry port operations, focusing on the provision of sophisticated and modern logistics services to stakeholders in the different geographic landscapes

Policy environment analysis for Arctic seaport development: the case of Sabetta (Russia)

In this paper, a structuration model is developed to evaluate opportunities and constraints that may arise for a port authority operating a port in the Arctic. The study builds upon the new institutionalist approach to transport infrastructure policy. It argues that given the specificity of operational conditions in the Arctic, as well as the expectations of the resource-driven future transformations, the conventional port development models cannot accurately depict factors of Arctic port activity. The proposed structuration approach focuses on how four dimensions of the policy environment (physical, economic, institutional, and environmental) enable and constrain policy choices available to a port authority. Application of this model to the case of Sabetta, a deep-sea multi-functional port constructed in the Ob estuary of the Yamal peninsula (Russia), demonstrates the inextricable links between actions and institutions and pinpoints the uncertainty factors that affect Arctic port development ‘from scratch’. The practical objective of this research is to introduce a dynamic multi-factor model for systematic evaluation of the policy environment in Arctic port development. Given that industrial activities in the Arctic region will proceed at the current speed or accelerate, lessons learned from the case of Sabetta will be relevant to other port infrastructure projects in the Arctic.Peer reviewe

Place-based innovation ecosystems : Boston-Cambridge innovation districts

This report focuses on the case study of the Boston area and identifies the key success factors in the Boston regional innovation ecosystem. It discusses how the macro-innovation eco-ecosystem is composed by a variety of interconnected micro-innovation ecosystems, mutually reinforcing each other and making the entire “territorial” system successful. The spatial configuration of these micro-innovation ecosystems at the urban scale has been specifically investigated, thus leading the authors to theorize that the Innovation District may act as an enabler for place-based innovation. Evidence from the Boston case study shows that there is not a single magic recipe for the successful implementation of place-based and social innovation-driven strategies. On the contrary, the variety of place-grounded combinations of micro and macro initiatives, embedded in the social and spatial fine grain of places and encompassing a diversity of actors, can create the conditions that enable places to thrive and local economic activities to grow in a sustainable way