AMERICAN PORT PLANNING TAKES NEW DIRECTION

The author stresses the need for continued port planning on a regional basis as demonstrated by two separate cooperative efforts underway between the Maritime Administration and the (1) Washington Public Ports Association and (2) Northern California Ports and Terminals Bureau. The WPPA planning study will be conducted in three phases: Data collection and commodity forecasts; demand and port capacity analysis; and port system plan development. The initial phase of the port system planning effort will involve the collection of all port facility and commodity base data, including the accomplishment of port commodity flow projections to the year 2000. Phase II will translate the commodity flow volumes forecasted in Phase I into stated demand for port facilities and capacity. The final study phase will cover the definition of development recommended for existing ports in all regions as well as recommended new facilities where appropriate. Thus, the final study report will basically serve as a future port policy decision-making study. It will permit the ports themselves to plan and implement changes on a cooperative basis and to accomplish their own coordination and regulation that may be required to achieve the objective of cooperative, systematic port development.