Port Management and Governance: Port Authority Strategy, Concessions and Master Planning – Dubai, 8–12 Mar 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Port management decisions taken by a port authority shape capacity, cost and competitiveness for decades: the choice of governance model, the terms of each concession, the tariff book, the master plan and the links to the hinterland. When these are set without evidence, terminals underperform, land sits idle and investment arrives too late. This Core Concept course gives port authority and concession managers the models and methods to govern a port, regulate its operators and plan its growth. Participants finish by producing a Port Authority Strategic Development Plan for their own port.

Course Objectives:

• Compare public service, tool, landlord and private port models and assess the governance fit of their own port authority
• Structure and monitor concession and PPP arrangements using performance clauses on berth occupancy, crane moves per hour and container dwell time
• Prepare a port master plan with traffic forecasts, capacity scenarios, land use zoning and expansion phasing
• Set port dues, wharfage, land rent and concession fees and test their effect on cost recovery and capital planning
• Oversee port community systems, hinterland corridors, ISPS Code security arrangements and green port measures at port-wide level
• Compile a Port Authority Strategic Development Plan with priorities, owners and funding sources

Target Audience:

• Managers in port authorities responsible for port strategy, governance and board reporting
• Port planning and engineering managers responsible for master plans, land use and capacity expansion
• Concession and commercial managers who negotiate and monitor agreements with terminal operators
• Finance managers responsible for port tariffs, revenue and capital investment programmes
• Terminal and port community managers who work with the port authority on performance, data exchange and hinterland links
• Harbour, security and environmental managers who coordinate port-wide safety, security and sustainability

Course Outline:

Day 1: Port Governance Foundations and Port Authority Baseline

• Port Authority Roles: Landowner, Regulator, Developer and Community Manager
• World Bank Port Reform Toolkit Models: Public Service, Tool, Landlord and Private Port
• Port Reform Drivers: Institutional Capacity, Competitiveness and Labour Transition
• Port Authority Legal Mandate, Board Structure and Financial Self-Sufficiency
• Port Governance Baseline Using a Port Authority Self-Assessment Grid

Day 2: Concessions, PPP and Port Regulation

• Concession and PPP Structures at Overview: Lease, Build-Operate-Transfer and Management Contracts
• Concession Agreement Anatomy: Term, Scope, Minimum Throughput and Hand-Back Conditions
• Economic Regulation of the Public Interest: Market Power, Access Rules and Tariff Caps
• Concession Performance Clauses: Berth Occupancy, Crane Moves per Hour and Dwell Time Targets
• Concession Monitoring Matrix and Penalty and Incentive Mechanisms

Day 3: Port Master Planning, Tariffs and Port Finance

• Port Master Plan Structure: Land Use Zoning, Phasing and Stakeholder Consultation
• Cargo Traffic Forecasting and Capacity Scenario Modelling by Commodity Segment
• Port Tariff Book Design: Port Dues, Wharfage, Land Rent and Concession Fees
• Port Authority Financial Statements, Revenue Mix and Cost Recovery Analysis
• Port Infrastructure Investment Appraisal: Net Present Value, Phased Expansion and Funding Options

Day 4: Digital Port Community, Hinterland, Security and Green Ports

• Port Community System Strategy: Data Governance, Stakeholder Onboarding and Service Roadmap
• Hinterland Connectivity: Rail and Road Corridors and Dry Port Integration
• ISPS Code Oversight Under SOLAS Chapter XI-2: Port Facility Security Plans and PFSO Designation
• Port-Wide Safety Risk Register and Harbour Emergency Plan Coordination
• Green Port Measures: Emissions Inventory, Onshore Power Supply and World Ports Sustainability Program Alignment

Day 5: Port Authority Case Work and Strategic Development Plan

• Governance Transition Case: From Tool Port to Landlord Port
• Concession Underperformance Case: KPI Shortfall Evidence and Remedy Options
• Capacity Gap Case: Master Plan Phasing and Tariff Impact Review
• Port Authority Strategic Development Plan Drafting
• Strategy Plan Presentation to a Board-Style Challenge Panel

Skills You Will Gain:

• Port Governance Model Assessment
• Concession Performance Oversight
• Port Master Planning
• Cargo Traffic Forecasting
• Port Tariff Setting
• Port Investment Appraisal
• Hinterland Corridor Planning
• Green Port Programme Management

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with a Port Authority Strategic Development Plan built from case evidence and your own port's data
• Read a concession agreement and know which clauses let the authority act when a terminal falls short
• Defend a tariff change or expansion phase to a board with forecasts and cost recovery figures
• Compare governance and planning choices with port authority and terminal managers from different ports and cargo types

Conclusion:

A port performs only as well as the authority that governs it, plans its land and regulates its operators. The course moves from governance models and port reform, through concessions, PPP and economic regulation, to master planning, tariffs and port finance, and then to the port community system, hinterland links, security oversight and green port measures. The final day applies these to governance, concession and capacity cases and produces a Port Authority Strategic Development Plan that participants take back to their board.