A Methodology for Measuring Sustainability of Dry Ports Location Based on Bayesian Networks and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis

The decision of where to locate a dry port requires the analysis of the whole logistics supply chain, with the objective of transferring the largest volume of goods possible from road to more energy efficient means of transport, like rail or Short Sea Shipping, that are less harmful to the environment. However, such decision ought to cope also with the sustainability of the site inland. The objective of this article is to investigate the variables influencing sustainability of dry port location and how this sustainability can be evaluated. We propose a methodology based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Bayesian Networks (BNs). MCDA is used as a way to establish a scoring, whilst BNs were chosen to eliminate arbitrariness in setting the weightings using a technique that allows us to prioritize each variable according to the relationships established in the set of variables. In order to determine the relationships between all the variables involved in the decision, giving us the importance of each factor and variable, we built a K2 BN algorithm. To obtain the scores of each variable, we used a complete cartography analysed by ArcGIS. As case studies, the sustainability of all of the 10 existing dry ports in Spain has been evaluated. In this set of logistics platforms, we found that the most important variables for achieving sustainability are those related to environmental protection, so the sustainability of the locations requires a great respect for the natural environment and the urban environment in which they are framed.