Author: AIVP
On sale date: Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Type of document: Report
Location: Europe : Netherlands :
Language: English, French, Spanish

Informing, discussing and making aware… these were the leitmotifs of this scientific meeting organised jointly by the Universities of Antwerp and Rotterdam last December. 35 researchers and academics, coming from the United States, Great Britain, China, Singapore, Japan and from Europe came together to debate the various modes of cooperation between port communities (spatial, political, cultural or economic) and their impact on growth and development strategies.

Organised by Peter de Langen and César Ducruet of the Erasmus University and Théo Notteboom of the ITMMA Institute and with the support of the port authorities of Antwerp and Rotterdam, the second day of this meeting was open to the public and to the industrial and economic world of the port communities of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Chaired by Bridget Hogat, the Editor of the magazine "Ports and Harbours", the debate on proximity raised several interrogations notably on the question of collaboration between the world of research and that of the professionals. The participants called for concrete solutions to the problems of congestion and efficiency in the transport chain, in a globalised universe where rapidity of adaptation has become essential. It was admitted that the academic community should invest themselves more in research connected with the applications of systems of information exchanges enabling the management of flows and the transport of goods to be anticipated and optimised.

Cooperation between port regions, marked in many cases by a heightened competition, should be the object of a new drive. The economic representatives and the researchers were agreed that a closer collaboration between port authorities is necessary in order to confront the problems of congestion and lack of space and thus to play a more active role in the development of the territory and its hinterland. Similarly, it would be possible to grasp in a more comprehensive manner, questions of the conservation of the environment and safety problems which extend well beyond the strict limits of the port boundaries.

Collaboration is not only limited to the problems of management of the territory but also concerns the question of negotiating power to face up to the globalised maritime operators. Rather than acting individually, port authorities have an interest in presenting a marketing strategy shared with all the local, regional and institutional stakeholders. This also signifies an increased collaboration with other regional ports capable of playing a role in the optimisation of the carriage of goods and the economic attractiveness of the territory.

Questions of competition, cooperation or integration in the contexts of a network of regional ports can only be tackled serenely if the question of governance has previously been determined. Peter de Langen, as well as Professor Winkelmans of ITMMA, underlined the importance of a governmental policy in which the objectives in terms of development and structuring of the ports was clearly defined, thus enabling the port authorities to respond to it with concrete proposals and strategic plans. This concept of "Goals down – Plans up" could thus contribute to the development of territorial cooperation provided that the port communities set up a truly horizontal type coordination.

For further information:
http://www.portsinproximity.com/
http://www.itmma.ua.ac.be/ (Newsletter 14, 8 February 2008)