Analysis by the World Bank with the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has found that the most appropriate structure for the country’s terminals, the landlord port management model, similar to many other parts of Europe.
Experts from the World Bank, on request from Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure and with the active participation of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), have completed their work to present the results of the study on the prospects for strengthening Ukraine’s port sector governance.
The study describes the port industry of Ukraine as a maritime nation that is of systemic importance to the rest of the world as a supplier of basic food products, metallurgical cargo and, most recently, as an importer and exporter of containerised goods.
The landlord port model has been implemented in different countries of the world and the World Bank focused on its contextualised application in Ukraine. Having considered the international experience of more established port authorities’ control over port territories, the study examines real port land management practices in the ‘new’ EU Member States of Eastern Europe, which used to have similar conditions to Ukraine at the beginning of their reform paths: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Poland, Croatia, the Baltic States.
At the same time, according to World Bank analysts, the current situation in Ukrainian ports does not fit into any of the four classic models of port sector management.
Based on the example of the Pivdennyi port, the experts illustrated fragmented land ownership and land use in sea ports (allocated between local authorities, regional state administrations and private entities). “In order to attract new investments and implement large-scale port infrastructure development projects, it is necessary to streamline land relations in ports,” – the experts say.
Click here to read the full version of the study on “Strengthening Ukraine’s Port Sector Governance”
Opportunities for the consolidation of land ownership and land use control have been presented within the framework of the legislation of Ukraine in the context of possible forms and legal aspects related to the planning and development of port land.
The final section of the study provides an analysis of possible ways of reforming Ukraine’s port industry and, in particular, of the ports of strategic importance, as well as the corporatisation of USPA as a means to improve the effectiveness of management of Ukrainian sea ports.
Overcoming the fundamental shortcomings in the current management of the port industry in Ukraine through reform is not an easy task. “At the same time, it will create a unique opportunity for Ukraine – to benefit from the world experience and develop an individual, modern form of the sea ports management”, – the authors of the study summarise.
