Basic Constraints of Port Sites

Port location is constrained by two physical characteristics of the site. The first involves land access and the second concerns maritime access. Both must be jointly satisfied as they are crucial for port operations, which rely on a maritime / land interface. This interface takes the form of a buffer along the coastline (or a river depending on the port site) that experiences, due to an appropriate site, the accumulation of port infrastructures. Thus, both land and maritime access can impair port operations and port development since a port benefiting from good land access but from a poor maritime access will be facing difficulties as well as a port that has a good maritime access but a poor land access. However, maritime access is the attribute that can be mitigated the least. Activities such as dredging and the construction of port facilities are very expensive, underlining the enduring importance of a good port site. Such a site conveys the best marginal utility to port infrastructure investments.

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