It is interesting to note, however, that while investment banks, infrastructure and investment funds are now “in the game”and do to some extent represent a source of new funding for the industry that they ultimately do not possess the depth of knowledge or experience of long time players in the sector such as,for example, first generation international terminal operators.And while the businesses these new market entrants have acquired do possess a certain skill base,it is not always a skill base that will be appropriate to starting up an entirely new operation in a new location.

Hence, it will be interesting to monitor whether these new acquisitive investment vehicles will push for expansion outside their markets with entirely new terminal developments as one path to achieving a return on their investment.

One market where significant doubts lie about such a transfer of expertise is India – also in focus this month in PS . Clearly, India is an attractive market for port investors and especially so with the growth prospects foreseen. It is, nevertheless, a challenging market and one that requires some special expertise in establishing an operation there and obtaining a positive return on investment.

So far, international terminal operators have been the main source of foreign investment in India, and in the container terminal sector at least this looks the sensible way forward for some time to come including discounting the idea of dedicated terminals for specific shipping lines or consortia.

As an Indian government agency or indeed any other attempting to attract foreign expertise and investment, it is most relevant to recognise these realities in the context of the perception that the world might now be awash with funds for port investment.

Equally,it becomes increasingly important to create the right conditions to promote investment and, as experience in India shows, there is usually significant scope for fine tuning in this area too. Carly Fields