International Maritime Associates, Inc.

Consulting Services Performed
in the Port Sector

We have provided a wide range of services to port authorities, terminal operators, project developers and investors, international lending institutions and others in the port sector. Our assignments have included project feasibility studies, facility sale and acquisition advice, facility restructuring and project implementation support. Among our long term clients has been the World Bank, who we have advised on port related issues for over 20 years. A sampling of our port sector projects is below.

  • prepared a pre-feasibility study for developing two major ports in Honduras to serve as Atlantic and Pacific hubs of a proposed trans-isthmus land-bridge and developed a business plan for establishing a large special economic zone adjacent to the port on the Pacific coast
  • evaluated options for structuring a unified management structure of the New Doha Port and the adjacent special economic zone, prepared for the government of Qatar
  • developed a plan of action for transferring responsibility for cargo handling operations in the existing Port of Doha to a commercial operator and recommended facility upgrades, organization restructuring and financial arrangements between the operator and port authority
  • reviewed the plan to develop a major container transshipment terminal in the Maldives and assisted the Government of the Maldives in assessing alternative strategies for proceeding with the project, prepared for the World Bank
  • prepared a pre-feasibility study for establishing a container terminal and free trade zone in the Port of Vlore on the coast of Albania
  • prepared a long term development plan and recommended the area layout for the Port of Salif, a bulk handling port on the Red Sea
  • reviewed port and maritime sector development plans of the Government of India and participated with the World Bank in preparing a policy and strategy paper for the Ministry of Transport
  • evaluated options to restructure cargo handling services in the Port of Valletta and recommended a strategy and plan of action to the Malta Maritime Authority
  • structured the consortium and assisted in consummating the successful bid to manage the new container terminal in the Port of Beirut
  • assessed operations in Port Sudan and recommended a program of capital expenditures to improve the port sector, prepared as part of an overall World Bank development program for the Government of Sudan
  • recommended a strategy and plan of action for attracting new industry and developing a diversified commercial traffic base in the Port of Assab, prepared for the Government of Eritrea
  • provided assistance to the Government of Bahrain in designing a strategy and plan of action to transition from public to private sector operation in the port sector
  • evaluated the feasibility of building a new container and bulk handling port in southern Brazil
  • assisted the Saudi Ports Authority in assessing strategic options for improving operations in the port sector and recommended a detailed plan of action
  • proposed a plan of action for eliminating impediments to trade growth in Egypt imposed by port and transport sector inefficiencies
  • assisted the Government of Malta in designing and implementing a plan to sell the large government-owned container transshipment terminal in Marsaxlokk — the container terminal was sold to CMA CGM
  • assisted the Government of Djibouti in evaluating a proposed transaction to transfer port operations to an international port operator under a long term concession — the port was subsequently concessioned to DPI
  • reviewed port sector operations in Egypt, assessed options for operation and organization improvements, identified issues related to transitioning to private sector operation and recommended a plan of action
  • assisted in revising legislation and regulations governing operations of the Port of Karachi to improve productivity and eliminate impediments to international transport governing operations of the Port of Karachi to improve productivity and eliminate impediments to international transport
  • assessed options for restructuring the port sector in the Republic of Lebanon, including reorganizing the port commission in the Port of Beirut, privatizing services in the port and eliminating barriers to efficient operation
  • conducted a feasibility study for developing a mega-hub for container transshipment in the Port of Aden (Yemen) to service the Arabian Sea/Red Sea/EC Africa region — the Aden Container Terminal is now in operation
  • developed a framework for a port user EDI network to improve the performance and customer responsiveness of ports in Saudi Arabia
  • assessed port operations in Haiti and analyzed options for privatizing port services in Port-au-Prince
  • assisted in preparing a World Bank loan evaluation for funding modernization of operations in the Port of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
  • assessed requirements for developing two new ports in southern Thailand ports in southern Thailand

IMA assisted the World Bank in preparing the Port Reform Toolkit, a reference document accessible on the World Bank website that provides a strategic framework for evaluating options to improve the productivity of port services. Our contribution was the market and competitive analysis in module 2 of the toolkit. This analysis provides a framework for understanding the forces that shape the competitive landscape and the changing environment in the ocean shipping and port sector.