The process of institutional reform is complex. Most countries undertake the kinds of fundamental institutional reforms that shift boundaries between the public and private sectors less than once in each generation. Hence, in most countries the knowledge necessary to carry the reform process forward needs to be built up from a near zero base. The Port Reform Toolkit (Toolkit) is designed to shorten the learning curve for institutional review and renewal by providing background information, concrete examples of successful and unsuccessful reforms, and specific tools and methods that policy makers and reformers require to proceed with the confidence that genuine knowledge affords.
The complex reform process through which the Toolkit navigates policy makers is a worthwhile journey. While the reasons for engaging in port reform are many and varied (as discussed in Module 3), the benefits are real and can be quantified as they accrue to exporters, consumers, shippers, and entrepreneurs. A successful reform program will help free governments of unnecessary expenditures, releasing funds for high priority social programs; ease bottlenecks to trade and economic development; and motivate the adoption of new regulations that protect the environment and improve worker and navigational safety.
Generally, the benefits the main stakeholders can expect from port reform include:
Two illustrative examples of port reform benefits are Colombia and Argentina. In Colombia, the liberalization of port labor practices along with the transfer of most port services to the private sector resulted in large and rapid improvements in productivity, lower fees for port users, and very attractive returns for the concessionaires (see Box 1). Similarly, in Argentina, the improvements following the concessioning of terminal operations in Buenos Aires have been dramatic: port charges and shipping tariffs declined sharply, labor productivity nearly quadrupled, and cargo volumes have jumped by more than 50 percent (see Box 2).
The objective of the Toolkit is to provide support for policy makers in undertaking sustainable and well-considered reforms to public institutions that provide, direct, and regulate port services in developing countries. In particular, the Toolkit offers public officials with support in:
Resources that address port institutional reform in a comprehensive and systematic way or that clearly explain the processes involved in re-engineering public port institutions are not readily available. The Toolkit is designed to fill this knowledge gap and to provide port reformers with decision support tools, tested and proven institutional reform tactics, and guidelines that represent “best international practice.”
The Toolkit draws together practical institutional designs and alternative approaches for increasing private sector involvement without compromising the public interest. It presents best international practices in a manner that is relevant to decision makers, and is designed to be easily understood by nonspecialists. It supplements general points with specific examples drawn from recent port reform activities around the world.
While the main audience for the Toolkit is public officials in developing countries who are responsible for port sector reform, the Toolkit should also be of interest to other government officials, to executives of port service companies and shipping companies, as well as port consultants and companies that use port services.
In addition to this introduction, this framework module includes the following sections:
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