One subproject for WP2 has been launched - "Coordination support for Barents Post Association (BPA) Working Group"

Contractor: Transportutvikling AS

Coordination support for Barents Port Association (BPA) Working Group

Project period: January 2007 – November 2007.

Project objectives

The strategic objective of the Project is to vitalise and improve the port cooperation and ensure its continuity as an organ with an inherent ability to constantly produce added-value to its network members – and therefore to the Barents region as a whole.

The Project objectives on a more concrete level are to define the long-term co-operation model of the forum, identify the most productive focal topics for the cooperation and act as a coordinator for all of the associated activity in the forum during STBR II.  

Project's scope

The project’s scope consists of the following:

• Analysis and suggestion of the cooperation model concerning organisation, management and funding.
• Achieving consensus on the focal topics of the forum, i.e. the subjects to be concentrated on. (Environmental issues? Safety and security? Joint marketing in EU? Something else?...)
• Coordinating all activity during STBR II implementation. This will in practise fold out as acting as the Barents Port Association Working Group Secretary. 

The hypothesis is: By uniting their forces the Barents ports would considerably improve their situation in communication with the European Union and in marketing towards central Europe, North-America and the rest of the world. The Barents Seaport Co-operation would have a potential to be an important link and an international actor in promoting common interests in seaport operation and maritime transport.  

The idea within the above hypothesis is not about uniting Barents ports’ businesses but more about extracting the synergies form their individual accumulations of know-how. The fact that genuine competition exists between many of the ports has to be acknowledged but must not be seen as an obstacle in the envisaged format and scope of a co-operation forum. 

A port association or forum could also take some initiative in co-ordinating research and development projects and studies aiming at further enhancing the operation within the Barents region ports, transport companies, forwarders and producers. One of the very key features is foreseen to be adopting joint measures to promote Barents port services and in that way help realise the vast business potential in the northern maritime transport sector.  

The BPA Working Group will constitute the key steering organisation for this project.

Expected outcome

• A provision of a successful and impressive enough coordinator for the forum activity starting from the project kick-off up until the end of 2007. This person needs to take care of all practical BPA activity during this time.
• A justified, concrete and feasible plan for the BPA operation model. The plan must be such, that Barents ports can easily commit to it. The plan has to  include descriptions of the management, organisation and financial structure of the cooperation. This document should also identify and list the necessary measures and steps to be taken on the way to this organisation. The suggested structure should ensure and improve the realisation / maintenance of the cooperation also after the coordinator commission ends.
• Identification of the most productive topics to be concentrated on.  The key actors (the ports) need to be able to relate to these topics and also to the practical ways of  the cooperation suggested.