Prior to 1990, the port of Valletta used to be the only port in Malta that effectively linked the islands with the outside world through maritime transport. That was the time when all imports and exports, and a considerable amount of trans-shipment, used to be handled in this relatively active port, acting as the primary force for the economy and generating employment and investments.

As one can appreciate, with the inception of the Freeport at Marsaxlokk way back in 1989, the relative importance of Valletta began to dwindle, since the Freeport terminals introduced new and more frequent links with a wider number of ports that began to be serviced by diverse shipping lines using Marsaxlokk as a hub.

It became clear that it was imperative Valletta re-configured its package of port services management by way of introducing niche commercial activities. Amongst the successful initiatives undertaken to date, one comes across all-round increases in cruise and ferry ships and passenger figures, and also bunkering operations, yacht-repair and shipping ancillary services.

A number of studies commissioned by the Malta Maritime Authority in recent years all emphasise the need for a thorough review of the present institutional regime, including the restructuring of work processes relating to the handling of cargo in the port.

These studies, moreover, show that the port of Valletta has considerable potential to attract to its facilities a number of business opportunities that, apart from catering for the inherent needs of the local economy at large, also contribute towards the introduction of added-value commercial activities.

Together with the general recommendations of the Ports Consultative Council that was set up some years ago, the studies indicate that as far as cargo operations are concerned, the port of Valletta is in dire need of a terminal cargo management operator that will be responsible for aboard and ashore operations.

This would eliminate the present anachronistic segregation between ship and shore operations at the ship-port interface.

There is also a need to rehabilitate the port areas, to replace and upgrade present plant and equipment and to streamline operations in such a way as to develop an all-encompassing pricing system which is easy to compute and which, moreover, is user-friendly.

The call for expressions of interest for cargo handling terminal management in Valletta, was launched last week, with the intention of identifying prospective industry players who are prepared to invest in the port and also introduce new businesses to it.

In this respect, emphasis is being placed on the track record of those expressing such interest and subsequently on the business plans that are submitted during the tendering phase.

The present concurrent initiatives should be appraised within a more general, wider vision for the ports in Malta. Apart from complying with international regulations, our ports must further consolidate themselves as primary instruments that first and foremost cater for the needs of the local economy and that concomitantly enable further sustainable development as transport logistics platforms.

Government is keen to tap the financing instruments being put forward by the EU Commission for the enhancement of cohesion amongst member states, for the development and extension of the Trans-European Networks in Transport and for the promotion of the Short Sea Shipping and Motorways of the sea projects.

In fact, it is also pertinent to

mention that the Malta Maritime Authority has established its Short Sea Promotion Centre.

The role of the centre is to promote and facilitate short sea shipping by acting as the focal point for shipping-related information and to assist the industry at large, including initiatives that help overcome present bottlenecks in our ports. It is hoped that this centre will receive the support and backing of the private sector.

The Malta Maritime Authority has been working on a number of projects for the ports. These range from infrastructure projects to the installation of vessel traffic systems to risk assessments of the ports.

These projects could all benefit from EU co-financing regimes. At the moment, the Authority is at the tendering stage for geo-technical investigations of present port facilities, and economic feasibility and environmental impact assessment for infrastructure projects.

In conclusion, one cannot but emphasise the need for the Maltese shipping and ports industry to use the geographical advantage that our ports enjoy by activating the reforms required to increase their present competitive edge and to further increase the present competitiveness against fierce competition.

It is projected that container traffic destined for the Mediterranean will double by the year 2015. Established major Mediterranean ports such as Barcelona, Valenzia, Marseilles and Genoa, and other less known ports, are already embarking on major infrastructural projects and are in the process of reviewing present port management regimes.

This is also the case with the developing ports along the southern shores of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

With this in mind, the initiative to launch this call for expressions of interest for the handling of cargo at the Valletta port will be a very important step towards enabling Valletta to reclaim for itself and for the local shipping and ports community a sizeable share of the projected increase in activity.