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Port Governance, Landlord Models & Concession Management Training Course

A regulator-level course on port governance, landlord models and concession oversight for authorities, rather than on running daily port operations.

PMM · Port & Maritime ManagementAll Levels#3119ClassroomEnglish , Arabic
Duration
5 Days
Download BrochureView Upcoming Dates

Free substitution at any time · 30+ days' notice: full refund minus 10%. Cancellation policy

Course Overview

The Port Governance, Landlord Models & Concession Management Training Course equips port authority leaders, transport regulators, and ministry officials with the knowledge needed to decide how a port should be governed, who should invest in and operate its facilities, and how private terminal operators should be supervised over the life of a concession. Its focus is at the level of the authority and the regulator: where daily port management and operations training concentrates on running berths, yards, and gates, this course concentrates on the institutional choices and contracts that determine how those activities are organized and held to account. Ports across the Gulf and Africa are reforming their institutions, and these decisions shape national trade for decades. The course begins with the main port administration models, including the service port, the tool port, the landlord port, and the fully privatized port, and examines the functions that stay with the public side under each: regulation, planning, land stewardship, harbor master duties, safety and security oversight, and trade facilitation. Participants compare corporatized port authorities with ministry-run ports, examine the separation of operator and regulator roles, and assess board composition, accountability lines, and conflicts of interest. The World Bank Port Reform Toolkit provides a common reference for reform options, alongside the legal and institutional conditions each country must assess for itself. Participants then work through the full concession cycle. They examine the business case and value-for-money assessment, the choice between concessions, build-operate-transfer arrangements, leases, and management contracts, tender design and bid evaluation, and the allocation of demand, construction, financing, and political risk. The program covers the clauses that decide long-term outcomes, including scope and exclusivity, investment obligations, productivity commitments, tariff provisions, concession fees, step-in rights, change in law, termination, and handback condition. It then turns to contract monitoring, competition within and between ports, renegotiation requests, and the way regulators use open access rules and operating licenses as governance instruments. The course is delivered through international case studies, governance mapping exercises, risk allocation workshops, clause review sessions, and a final port reform workshop. Participants leave with a port governance assessment framework, a public and private role matrix, a concession risk allocation matrix, a key clause checklist, a concession monitoring plan with performance indicators, and a reform roadmap they can adapt to their own institutions.

Learning Objectives

  • Compare service, tool, landlord, and privatized port models and the public functions retained under each.
  • Assess the institutional options for port authorities, including corporatization and ministry oversight.
  • Separate regulatory, planning, commercial, and operating roles to reduce conflicts of interest.
  • Design board structures, delegated authorities, and accountability lines for a port authority.
  • Evaluate when a concession, lease, build-operate-transfer, or management contract best suits a port asset.
  • Structure the business case and value-for-money assessment for private participation in a terminal.
  • Allocate demand, construction, financing, environmental, and political risk between the parties.
  • Design competitive concession tenders, bid evaluation criteria, and safeguards for procurement integrity.
  • Review the key concession clauses on exclusivity, investment, tariffs, fees, termination, and handback.
  • Establish performance indicators, reporting duties, audit rights, and remedies for concession monitoring.
  • Manage renegotiation requests, disputes, and step-in situations without weakening public accountability.
  • Apply competition and open access principles to terminals, port services, and operating licenses.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for port authority board members, chief executives, and senior managers, as well as heads of strategy, planning, legal affairs, commercial development, and concession management in port authorities and maritime administrations. It is equally relevant for officials in transport and finance ministries, transport and competition regulators, public-private partnership units, and privatization agencies, and for the contract managers who supervise terminal operators on behalf of public bodies. Professionals in free zone authorities, national logistics programs, sovereign and development finance institutions, and the legal, financial, and technical advisers who support port transactions will find the course directly applicable. It is particularly valuable for institutions in the Gulf and Africa that are preparing a port reform, tendering a new terminal, or taking over the supervision of an existing concession. It also helps teams that review terminal operators or renegotiate long-term concessions.

Learning Outcomes

  • By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
  • Explain the main port governance models and the public functions under each.
  • Assess whether a port's governance model fits national trade, investment, and fiscal objectives.
  • Draft a clear division of roles between landlord, regulator, and operator.
  • Advise a port authority board on structure, delegation, and accountability.
  • Select a suitable form of private participation for a given port asset.
  • Prepare a risk allocation matrix for a terminal concession.
  • Set evaluation criteria for a fair and competitive concession tender.
  • Identify weak concession clauses on investment, tariffs, and handback.
  • Define performance indicators and contractual remedies for a concession.
  • Build a monitoring plan that states who collects which data, how often it is reviewed, and what triggers action.
  • Evaluate renegotiation requests against the public interest and fiscal exposure.
  • Develop a phased port reform roadmap for their own institution, sequencing institutional, legal, and transaction steps.

Course Outline

Course Outline:

Day 1

Port Governance Models and the Public Role

  • Why port governance matters to national trade, investment, and public accountability
  • Service, tool, landlord, and fully privatized port models compared
  • Public functions that remain under each model: regulation, planning, land, and harbor master duties
  • The main reform options in the World Bank Port Reform Toolkit
  • Drivers and obstacles of port reform, including labor transition and stakeholder positions
  • Practical application: participants map the current governance model of a port and identify its gaps
Day 2

Port Authority Structure, Regulation, and Accountability

  • Corporatized authorities, ministry-run ports, and national versus local port bodies
  • Board composition, delegated authority, and conflicts of interest
  • Separating the roles of landlord, regulator, and operator
  • Economic regulation, competition, and open access to port services
  • Operating licenses and port service permits as governance instruments
  • Port planning powers, land use control, and the port master plan as public instruments
  • Practical application: participants draft a role matrix and accountability map for a port authority
Day 3

Structuring Private Participation and Concession Tenders

  • Concessions, build-operate-transfer arrangements, leases, and management contracts
  • Business case, value-for-money assessment, and market sounding
  • Allocating demand, construction, financing, environmental, and political risk
  • Tender stages, bid evaluation criteria, and financial versus technical scoring
  • Procurement integrity, transparency, and handling unsolicited proposals
  • Practical application: participants build a risk allocation matrix and evaluation criteria for a terminal tender
Day 4

Key Concession Clauses and Landlord Obligations

  • Concession scope, exclusivity, and protection against competing terminals
  • Investment obligations, staged development, and productivity commitments
  • Tariff provisions, concession fees, and revenue sharing structures
  • Landlord obligations for channels, breakwaters, access, and hinterland connections
  • Step-in rights, change in law, force majeure, termination, and compensation
  • Handback condition, asset registers, and transition of staff
  • Practical application: participants review a sample concession and mark the clauses that need redrafting
Day 5

Concession Monitoring, Renegotiation, and Reform Planning

  • Performance indicators, reporting duties, audit rights, and contractual remedies
  • Building a concession monitoring unit with the right skills and independence
  • Assessing renegotiation requests and protecting the public interest
  • Dispute resolution, relations with operators, and public communication
  • Sequencing a port reform program across institutions, law, and transactions
  • Lessons from international concession experience, both successful and troubled
  • Final workshop: participants present a port reform roadmap and a concession monitoring plan

Upcoming Dates

CityDatesPrice per ParticipantEarly Bird
SingaporeScheduled
2 – 6 Nov 2026€6,700—
AbujaScheduled
9 – 13 Nov 2026€5,100—
AccraScheduled
16 – 20 Nov 2026€5,100—
AmmanScheduled
22 – 26 Nov 2026€3,100€2,790until 2 Nov
AmsterdamScheduled
23 – 27 Nov 2026€5,400€4,860until 2 Nov
BakuScheduled
30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026€4,800€4,320until 9 Nov
BarcelonaScheduled
30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026€5,400€4,860until 9 Nov
BeirutScheduled
6 – 10 Dec 2026€4,000€3,600until 16 Nov
BerlinScheduled
14 – 18 Dec 2026€5,800€5,220until 23 Nov
CairoScheduled
20 – 24 Dec 2026€3,300€2,970until 30 Nov
Cape TownScheduled
21 – 25 Dec 2026€5,100€4,590until 30 Nov
CasablancaScheduled
28 Dec 2026 – 1 Jan 2027€4,300€3,870until 7 Dec
DammamScheduled
3 – 7 Jan 2027€4,200€3,780until 14 Dec
DohaScheduled
3 – 7 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 14 Dec
DubaiScheduled
10 – 14 Jan 2027€4,400€3,960until 21 Dec
ErbilScheduled
17 – 21 Jan 2027€3,100€2,790until 28 Dec
IstanbulScheduled
18 – 22 Jan 2027€4,700€4,230until 28 Dec
JeddahScheduled
24 – 28 Jan 2027€4,200€3,780until 4 Jan
Kuala LumpurScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€4,400€3,960until 11 Jan
KigaliScheduled
1 – 5 Feb 2027€5,100€4,590until 11 Jan
LisbonScheduled
8 – 12 Feb 2027€5,400€4,860until 18 Jan
LondonScheduled
15 – 19 Feb 2027€5,600€5,040until 25 Jan
MadinahScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€4,200€3,780until 1 Feb
MadridScheduled
22 – 26 Feb 2027€5,400€4,860until 1 Feb
MakkahScheduled
1 – 5 Mar 2027€4,200€3,780until 8 Feb
MuscatScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€5,300€4,770until 15 Feb
ManamaScheduled
8 – 12 Mar 2027€4,700€4,230until 15 Feb
OnlineScheduled
14 – 18 Mar 2027€1,700€1,530until 22 Feb
Sharm El-SheikhScheduled
22 – 26 Mar 2027€4,300€3,870until 1 Mar
ParisScheduled
22 – 26 Mar 2027€5,700€5,130until 1 Mar

Available in: Istanbul · Dubai · London · Doha · Amsterdam

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