A Comparative Perspective on Dry Ports in India, China and Western Europe

摘要

Unlike the developed countries of Western Europe, the emerging economies of Asia such as China and India have never been maritime nations with high levels of sea trade. With the introduction of market reforms the foreign trade picked up and so did the containerization. In order for the consumers to avail themselves of the true benefits of containerization, the containers are transported to their doorsteps. For this purpose the governments created special agencies to transport the containers to the hinterland collection/distribution container depots or dry ports as termed by UNCTAD. In the west European countries these dry ports are set up and operated entirely by the private sector while in the developing countries of Asia the role has been enacted by the public sector. This paper attempts to compare the dry port operations in Asia and Europe and analyze the advantages and disadvantages from the customer's perspective. Subsequently an effort is made to draw inferences for the future growth of this industry.