Chapter 11 Whither Port Strategy? Theory and Practice in Conflict

This chapter analyses the design of the Greek port reform strategy, and provides a twofold assessment of how this strategy has been implemented in practice. Following a discussion of the background of the port reforms and the new statutory formation of the Greek port system that has evolved during the last eight years, the chapter provides an assessment of the resulting port governance fit. Then, the chapter provides empirical evidence of the financial performance of the Greek ports' performance in the post-devolution period. This discussion concludes that the endorsed strategy has not managed to reverse the suboptimal state of the Greek port system, due to a conflict between the scope of the governance choices and the actual developments. As the search of a long-term Greek port strategy continues, there is substantial evidence of indecisiveness and a number of failures. Given the dynamics of the economic and policy environment and the challenges and opportunities they pose to the port hierarchy, the need to correct these inconsistencies and enhance the Greek ports' competitiveness is eminent. Among others, this study argues that future essential changes should include the lowering of entry-barriers and the introduction of intra-port competition, labour reforms, limitation of the existing political interference and the establishment of really autonomous port authorities.