Finding the elusive alternative revenue stream

Ports and terminals must therefore be creative and read the new legislation very closely in order to tailor their projects to fall within the requirements of the various governments. It may also be helpful to approach governments with such innovative ideas and use lobbying to promote specific projects.

In contrast to the idea of attracting funding through new and creative projects, a safer way to attract funding may be through existing programs which have received additional funding. For example, the US Department of Transportation was allocated a total of $48.1bn through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, of which $38.6bn will be distributed through existing funding programs. It will therefore be advisable to review these existing programs and their eligibility criteria, as more funds are made available even though such funds are likely to have already been targeted by other benefiting companies.

In addition, ports and terminals may find more certainty when applying for funding from international development banks or supra national authorities such as the EU. For example, the Marco Polo Programme organised by the European Union, makes funds available to EU member states and their bordering countries under certain conditions. The funding will be allocated to enhance the environmental performance of the freight transport system in these countries. Clear guidelines and application procedures are available from the European Union to gain access to this funding.

Development banks may also be able to provide funds to port operators which are be keen to modernise themselves in order to face the economic downturn, and the future economic pick up. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for example, has backed Indonesian development, and is proposing to advance funds to the Indonesian port sector. However, it is not clear what the funding conditions for this proposal consist of.