It is now over 25 years since the widespread concessioning of container terminals began. This article examines the impact of concessioning on the balance between public and private sector control, the use of competitive tendering to assign concessions, the structure of the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to which concessions were originally awarded, and the way in which the ownership of these S…
In many countries around the world, governments and public port authorities have retreated from port operations in the belief that enterprise-based port services and operations would allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in the market (through more competition) and a better response to consumers’ demands. In this new environment, the awarding of port terminals to private operators …
This paper describes in detail the award process of the concession for a large container terminal in the port of Rotterdam. This process can be termed competitive bidding, and differs from a tender because of the frequent interaction between the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the candidates. The competitive bidding process is a potentially attractive form in which to grant concessions, if ther…