Busan Port Authority (BPA) Attends Major Global Port Authorities Meeting... Shares Progress and Achievements in Overseas Projects

CEOs of ports participating in the "Port Authority Roundtable" (PAR) are taking a group commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA) attended the 'Port Authority Roundtable' (PAR) held from the 31st to the 2nd in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, hosted by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

PAR is a global platform launched by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, inviting CEOs of 11 representative ports worldwide to lead joint efforts on current issues facing ports.

The meeting was held to coincide with Singapore Maritime Week 2015.

This year marked the 7th session, bringing together port representatives for the first time in three years since the 2019 Kobe meeting.

The meeting discussed recent industry issues such as global supply chain disruption, digitalization, decarbonization, and diversification.

A total of 13 ports participated, including five Asian ports?Busan, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kobe; one American port?Seattle; three European ports?Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Barcelona; and four Middle Eastern ports?Abu Dhabi, Oman, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, sharing best practices from each port.

BPA participated in the Diversification session to share the 'Key Achievements and Plans of Overseas Projects' that have been promoted to support the enhancement of overseas logistics competitiveness of Korean companies and to create new cargo volumes linked to Busan Port.

BPA operates the Rotterdam Logistics Center in the Netherlands, the first overseas logistics infrastructure opened by a port authority in January 2022, and a bonded warehouse in East Java, Indonesia.

The 'Barcelona Logistics Center' scheduled to open next month is the first case of a joint project through the establishment of a joint venture between Busan Port Authority and Barcelona Port Authority.

The logistics center attracted significant interest as it demonstrates the potential for new overseas projects through cooperation between port authorities.

During the discussion following the presentation, port officials from various countries evaluated BPA’s overseas project initiatives as highly effective in diversifying institutional revenue structures, absorbing external shocks through global logistics infrastructure investment, and fulfilling social roles.

BPA plans to actively utilize networking opportunities with PAR member ports to promote additional projects in countries where Korean companies have entered, such as the U.S. West and East Coasts and Thailand.

Ku Ja-rim, Director of Overseas Business at BPA, said, “It was a meaningful occasion where representatives of ports that wisely overcame crises in the shipping and logistics industry, such as COVID-19 and the global logistics crisis, gathered to share opinions on the issues they face. Going forward, we will continue to build Busan Port as a hub that communicates and cooperates with ports worldwide on common issues in the port industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.