Port management has implications for economic growth, crisis response efforts, environmental protection and gender equality.
If you’ve never lived near a port or worked in one, you may be unaware of the vital role they play in our lives.
Most of the products we consume daily travel through ports, making them a key link in the global production and supply chains we rely on.
“Our livelihoods – food, jobs, energy – depend on functioning and resilient supply chains,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said.
How ports are managed has implications for economic growth, crisis response efforts, environmental protection and gender equality, placing them at the heart of sustainable development.
Powering trade and economic growth
The efficiency of a port directly affects the economies of the countries it serves, since more than 80% of global trade is carried by sea. The percentage is even higher for many developing countries.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that when ports slow down, everyone suffers.
Lockdown measures caused disruptions and delays in many ports around the globe. The median time container ships spent in ports worldwide, for example, increased by 20 per cent between 2019 and 2021.
During the pandemic, freight rates reached record highs and have again soared in the wake of the war in Ukraine due to logistics disruptions and port congestion.
UNCTAD analysis has shown how surges in freight rates can raise the prices of goods, especially in least developed countries and small island developing states.
Supporting crisis response
When disaster strikes, ports are the main point of entry for the food, water and medicine people need to survive and the fuel required to keep hospitals and health facilities running.
For example, Yemen, which is experiencing one of the largest humanitarian crises, imports through its ports about 90 per cent of its food.
The war in Ukraine has also been a tragic reminder of the key role ports play in fighting crises like global hunger. The country was the world’s sixth largest exporter of wheat in the 2020-2021 season.
In the eight months before the conflict, more than 50 million tonnes of grain were shipped through the country’s Black Sea ports – enough to feed about 400 million people.
Now, with ports on the Black Sea blocked, the grain is stuck in silos on land or on ships, unable to move while 44 million people around the world face starvation.
Tackling environmental impact is critical
While ports are vital for economic development and crisis response, the associated maritime traffic, handling of goods, and road and rail transport take a toll on the environment through air and water pollution.
This is caused by fuel-powered cargo handling equipment, ships, trucks, trains and the power plants providing the energy needed to run port operations.
The emissions include greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and particulate matter, which cause respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and chronic lung and heart diseases.
Reducing port emissions would cut air and water pollution and improve the health of over 3.5 billion people while helping curb climate change.
Need to empower women
Ports are an important source of local employment, but they have historically created more jobs for men than women.
Data from over 50 ports working with UNCTAD’s TrainForTrade port management programme show that women held just 18 per cent of official port jobs in 2021. The ports are spread out across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
The highest regional average was 26 per cent, reported by the European ports that participated in the study.
A closer look showed a more encouraging global average of 42 per cent for management and administrative roles in ports. But in cargo handling and operations, just 6 per cent of workers were women.
The figures highlight the need to empower women port workers and to continue working towards gender equality in the sector.
How UNCTAD supports ports
To address existing challenges, UNCTAD provides research, analysis and technical assistance to help ports and the maritime transport sector – especially in developing countries – improve operations, empower women and become more sustainable and resilient to crises, including climate change.
This work includes the annual Review of Maritime Transport and a multi-year expert meeting on transport, trade logistics and facilitation.
In terms of capacity-building, UNCTAD’s TrainForTrade port management programme has certified over 6,700 port managers in 140 countries on various topics.
The programme’s member ports can track their performance on a range of indicators through UNCTAD’s port performance scorecard.
And TrainForTrade’s Port Management Week, held this year from 10 to 13 May in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, brought together over 100 senior managers from around the globe to explore how the programme could help ports contribute even more to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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New Partnership Set To Unlock Mongolia’s E-Commerce Potential
UNCTAD will help the landlocked East Asian nation assess its e-commerce ecosystem and harness the development benefits of the digital economy.
UNCTAD has joined forces with the Republic of Korea and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to boost e-commerce in Mongolia.
The Republic of Korea has contributed US$100,000 to UNCTAD’s e-commerce and digital economy programme to assess the landlocked nation’s e-trade readiness.
The assessment requested by the Mongolian government will be conducted jointly with the EBRD, which will contribute US$75,000 to the project.
UNCTAD’s director of technology and logistics, Shamika N. Sirimanne, said: “UNCTAD is happy to join efforts with the Republic of Korea and the EBRD to support Mongolia along its digitalization pathway.”
She added that e-commerce offers many opportunities to Mongolia’s businesses and consumers, and the assessment is a key step towards capturing those opportunities.
Transition to digital economy
“We hope that the assessment will be of great help in Mongolia’s transition to a digital economy, and it will be meaningful in finding new possibilities for Mongolia’s development,” said director of digital government cooperation in the Republic of Korea’s ministry of the interior and safety, Sungjoo Son.
Associate director and head of Mongolia at EBRD Hannes Takacs said: “We are delighted to partner with UNCTAD to share our expertise and reach to support further digitalization.”
Mr. Takacs said the assessment will highlight the policy and funding gaps that stand in the way of Mongolia’s full digital potential.
“The outcome will be a concrete agenda for the bank,” he said. “Digitalization is one of the EBRD’s priorities in the country and we are keen to see this assessment generate investments in all layers of the digital economy — from foundational infrastructure to innovative startups.”
The promise of digitalization
The Mongolian economy stands to benefit enormously from further digitalization, which can boost productivity and support economic diversification. The country heavily relies on extractive activities, tourism and agriculture.
The assessment will provide an overview of constraints and opportunities for e-commerce development in key policy areas, to enable the East Asian nation to better harness the digital economy.
Besides co-funding the assessment, EBRD will provide substantive inputs into policy areas covering ICT infrastructure and services, trade logistics and trade facilitation, payment solutions and access to finance.
The EBRD’s participation follows its new digital approach and commitment to mobilize its full suite of instruments – investments, policy dialogue and advisory services – to shape healthy digital transformations.
In particular, this project furthers EBRD’s ambitions to support the foundations of a sustainable and inclusive digital economy by promoting appropriate policies and regulations and access to connectivity.
The assessment will leverage UNCTAD’s subject-matter expertise and EBRD’s regional access. It will be the thirty-second such assessment done by UNCTAD since 2017, and the third in an EBRD country (after Jordan and Tunisia).
Implementation support
UNCTAD will support Mongolia to fast-track the implementation of policy recommendations that will emerge from the assessment.
The project will benefit from the technical expertise of several eTrade for all partners and increased cooperation with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Mongolia.
The Republic of Korea’s long-standing support to the eTrade for all initiative has boosted coordination among governments, development partners, civil society and the private sector to implement policies on e-commerce and the digital economy to spur development.
The country’s experience in promoting the digital transition of the public sector, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, through open data, e-customs and e-procurement, was highlighted in a special session of the UNCTAD eCommerce Week 2022.
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Pennsylvania Firm Acquires The Waterfront Magnuson Hotel
By Veronica Brezina
A Pennsylvania real estate firm that has made significant investments in Tampa has scooped up the Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove resort in St. Petersburg.
Willner Realty and Development Co., under the WRD LLC entity name, purchased the 18-acre waterfront resort at 6800 Sunshine Skyway Lane S. and several adjacent parcels, totaling over US$17 million in transactions, according to property records.
Willner and its related companies own retail complexes, mid-rise office buildings, hotels and apartments in Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The group previously acquired several large properties in Tampa Bay, including the 320-unit downtown multifamily building at 112 N. 12th St. at the southern end of Tampa’s Channelside District.
The St. Pete properties purchased include the actual resort, the private 32-boat slip marina behind the property, the tennis/shuffleboard courts, and a vacant triangular property located on the corner of the Sunshine Skyway Lane S. and Pinellas Point Drive S.
The 144-room Magnuson closed in 2020 following a mass layoff of 55 employees; however, a May 6 post on its Facebook account states the hotel is open, but the Nepa Hut bar remains closed.
The hotel offers a small private beach, two pools and two on-site restaurants: Periscopes, a casual eatery that serves classic American food and seafood, and the Banyan Tree Deli.
Private vendors also surround the property, including Island Adventures, which operates dolphin watch tours, and the Island Jet Ski Rentals.
The Magnuson General Manager Steven Springman and representatives at Willner Realty and Development Co. were not immediately available to comment on the deal.
This isn’t the first Magnuson hotel that was sold in the area. Last year, the 118-room Magnuson Hotel Clearwater resort sold in a US$6 million deal to Jacksonville-based US Highway Hospitality Associates LLC entity.
