Revisiting Port Capacity: A practical method for Investment and Policy decisions

The paper revisits port capacity providing a more holistic approach via including immediate port connections from the seaside and the hinterland. The methodology provided adopts a systemic approach encapsulating the different port terminals along with the seaside and hinterland connections providing a holistic estimation of port capacity. Capacity is defined with the use of two dimensions; static and dynamic. Static capacity relates to land availability or in other words the available space for use. Dynamic capacity is determined by the available technology of equipment in combination to the skill of available labor. With the presentation of a case study from a container terminal the practical use of this methodology is illustrated. Based on the data provided by the terminal operator the results showed that there is still available space to be utilised at a static level and also room more improvement at a dynamic level. The benefits stemming from the above methodology are multidimensional with the key ones being the flexible framework adjusted to the needs of each port system for measuring capacity, the productivity estimation of the different business processes involved in the movement of goods and people and the evaluation of the financial performance of the different business units and the port as a whole.