SMP Dev - Small and medium-sized Baltic Sea ports development challenge
Small and medium-sized ports (SPM) compose a significant share of the Baltic Sea Region port network. They also handle remarkable amount of cargo and thus play a notable role in local and regional economies in the area (100 – 300 million tons annually depending on definition of SMP).
However, the current transport policies often put development of large ports on the fore whereas SMPs are largely ignored. In addition, port development methods and tools are usually aimed at large ports which small and medium-sized ports have problems to adopt due to their complexity.
The aim of the project is screen the current development needs (in varying levels of detail) and general planning practices of SMPs in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) countries. This is conducted by preliminary analysis (statistics, other sources) of SMPs in BSR which is followed by the interviews of selected, representative ports. Tentatively, this would include about 15 port authorities in different Baltic Sea Region countries.
The project started in January 2016 lasting until the end of November 2016. The results of the project are aimed to be used in a follow-up project where the concrete development projects are initiated on practical level. Furthermore, a planning tool is to be developed specifically to address the needs of SMPs.
The project is carried out by the Centre for Maritime Studies of University of Turku (lead partner, Finland), Luleå University of Technology (Sweden) and Gdynia Maritime University (Poland). The project is co-financed by the Council of the Baltic Sea States Project Support Facility.
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