ABSTRACT
Port planning and development, although initially a function of a port management body at the local level, is aided substantially by technical and financial support from the Ministry of Transport and reflects established national goals for industrial growth. This chapter describes four particularly important shifts in federal government policy that affect the competitive advantages/disadvantages of certain Ports and change how harbors and Port lands are used in the future. It shows the retrenchment of the federal role in Port affairs accompanying the recent US emphasis on free market principles: the restricted role of the FMC due to deregulation, and the increased local cost-sharing now required on federal harbor improvement projects. The chapter also relates instances where national policy has intervened more heavily in Port activities: the protection of the natural environment within the harbor, and the encouragement of Port cooperation within regions. The chapter concludes with a plea to revitalize national attention to Port and harbor affairs.
