Expert Group Meeting on Draft Regional Framework for Development of Dry

Ports of International Significance, Bangkok, 6-7 June 2017

Peter Hodgkinson, Consultant Transport Economist,

UNESCAP
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Content
5. Principles and standards for design and operation
6. Coding of dry ports of international significance
7. Incorporation of dry ports into transport documents and
legal instruments
8. Proposed arrangements for customs clearance at dry ports
9. Policy measures, legislation and solutions for planning dry
port development
10. Practical options for financing development and operation
of dry ports
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5. Principles and standards for dry port design and operation

• Not necessary for dry ports to have identical design standards in order to function
effectively as inter-related components of regional network
• But, there is need for some consistency among them as to basic services offered and
design of infrastructure needed to provide these services
Basic services:
• Handling, consolidation, storage and modal transfer of containers and cargo;
• Customs and other border control inspection and clearance of international cargo
Basic infrastructure needs:
• Fenced customs secure area - segregated entry/exit points for different traffic;
• Container Yard (CY) – receipt/despatch of containers by road and rail, container
storage;
• Container Freight Station (CFS) for loading/discharge of cargo to/from containers;
• Customs inspection area where cargo may be discharged for inspection;
• Bonded warehouse for storage of break-bulk under bond cargo
• Administration building (dry port management, customs, freight forwarders, banking,
etc)
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Key principle for CY design: rail access

Rail infrastructure to be provided inside a dry port should allow receipt and
despatch of full length unit container trains running between a single origin and
a single destination, without need to be broken up or re-marshalled outside the
dry port

• CY should be designed around rail access and not the reverse

• Loading and unloading of trains would take place in centrally located sidings
comprising at least three tracks – loading, unloading and locomotive release –
but actual number of tracks depends on forecast traffic volumes
• For a reach-stacker served facility, container stacks of CY located either side of
the tracks (to allow loading and unloading on both sides at a time)
• Paved area of CY on which stacks rest would extend entire length of tracks
• Length of loading/unloading tracks determined by number and length of wagons
comprising a train, e.g. for a train of 40 container wagons pulled by a single
locomotive, length = 660 metres approx.
• Design axle loading: 20 t (metre gauge); generally 22.5-25 t for wider gauges
• Best example of a rail-friendly dry port layout is Lard Krabang Dry Port in
Thailand (see next slide)
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Example of good rail access planning: Lard Krabang Dry Port (Thailand)
• Rail loading/unloading
tracks centrally located,
permitting working of
handling equipment on
either side

• Tracks are one km long,

permitting full length trains
(loco plus 30-40 wagons
carrying 60-80 TEU) to arrive
and depart directly in/from the
terminal
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CY layout, capacity and pavement design

• Layout depends on length of rail siding tracks as well as type of handling system to be
employed
• Generally choice is between reach-stacker and portal crane systems (such as RMGs or
RTGs) – former are land intensive, but inexpensive while latter are expensive and allow for
dense stacking of containers
• Choice depends on expected volume of containers to be handled – reach-stackers cost
effective for up to 200,000 TEU per year, beyond which portal crane system may be justified
• For portal crane system, crane will straddle at least the tracks and a roadway and possibly
even the container stack as well
• For reach-stacker system, at least two reach-stackers will work simultaneously either side of
loading/unloading tracks, lifting containers directly between wagons and container stacks in
one of 2 CY sections, avoiding need for trailer transfer
• In each CY section, container stacks will be arranged in blocks of about 4 TEU wide, 3 TEU
deep and 3-4 TEU high, along the length of tracks, each separated by a width of 13 metres to
allow for reach-stacker turning circle. Storage capacity = 1,400 TEU approx.
• Annual throughput capacity depends on number of times CY storage volume is turned. In this
case average dwell time of a container cannot exceed 4.5 days for throughput of 100,000
TEU
• To minimize capital cost, CY can be constructed in flexible paving materials, but will have to
withstand heavy wheel loadings of container lifting equipment (reach-stacker lifting 45 tonnes
= 25 tonnes per wheel.
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Possible CY layout (reach-stacker served terminal)

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Examples of different container handling systems employed in region

Rubber tyred gantry crane (Uiwang) Reach-stacker (Lard Krabang)

Empty handler (Lard Krabang)

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Provision for truck circulation within dry port

• Efficient operation of dry port depends on unimpeded
circulation of trucks throughout most of dry port area
• Exception is intersection with rail access line, which needs
to be protected by automatic level crossing barriers and
warning devices
• Internal roads should be constructed with width of 15
metres, to allow handling equipment and trucks to pass
safely
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Design of other major facilities

• Areas of Container Freight Station (CFS), Bonded Warehouse and even of
Customs Inspection Area determined in proportion to maximum container
throughput (TEU) expected to be handled in the dry port
• Peak daily number of containers to be handled through these facilities can
be calculated as some proportion of expected TEU throughput volume for
dry port
• Floor area of cargo discharged from these containers calculated by applying
to TEU volume an average area per TEU of 30 square metres and traffic
circulation factor of 1.3
• CFS designed with container bays facing on to a raised loading/unloading
platform on one side and truck loading/unloading bays on the other
• Containers will be packed and unpacked by forklift trucks while still on their
trailers (see photos). Similarly, break-bulk trucks will be loaded and
unloaded from raised platform by smaller forklifts
• Detailed requirements for other buildings shpould be determined in
consultation with local Customs staff, as well as freight forwarders and other
service providers
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CFS operations at TIFFA terminal, Lard Krabang

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Terminal management IT system

• Essential for entry, exit and placement into storage
of containers and cargo to be tracked by a real time
computer system
• Should be possible to locate any container or cargo
consignment from time of departure from seaport or
from shippers premises to arrival in dry port and
placement into storage
• Computerized yard control system should be used
to determine with precision where a container is to
be placed within stack
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6. Coding of dry ports of international significance

• United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, UN/LOCODE – system
developed for uniquely identifying locations (e.g. airports, seaports, inland freight
terminals) which handle international trade
• Can establish electronic link between dry ports in regional network
• Of considerable benefit in facilitating trade and electronic exchange of documents
between dry ports located in different countries
• A five character alpha format, e.g. BT THI indicates a road freight terminal located
in Thimphu, Bhutan; TH LKR indicates Lard Krabang ICD in Thailand, etc.
• UN/LOCODES maintained by UNECE Secretariat
• Application to establish a code can be made on line to the Secretariat
• Strongly recommended that all dry ports which have not yet applied for a locode
should do so
• Within region it was found that Cikarang Dry Port in Indonesia and Lard Krabang
ICD in Thailand are already linked by locodes
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7. Incorporation of dry ports into transport

documents and legal instruments
• Objective to ensure that all dry ports covered by Intergovernmental
Agreement are given legal status, i.e. are specified as cargo origins and
destinations for international trade in such documents and instruments
• In practice Multimodal Transport documents, e.g. FIATA Multimodal Bill of
Lading (next slide), already in use in region for consignment of goods
between dry ports located in different countries – for example between
Cikarang Dry Port (Indonesia) and Lard Krabang ICD (Thailand)
• Transport documents are backed up by international transport conventions
(legal instruments) which set out contractual conditions under which cargo
consignments transported across borders
• Legal instrument which sets out terms and conditions of carriage embodied in
FIATA Multimodal Transport document is UNCTAD/ICC Rules for Multimodal
Transport Documents (1992)
• Possible that this instrument may need modification to specify dry ports as
cargo origins and destinations, despite related documents having already
been adapted for this purpose
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Example of FIATA based Multimodal Transport B/L

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8. Proposed arrangements for customs clearance

at dry ports

• Effective interoperability of dry ports within regional network requires that they have
full range of functions (customs, quarantine and health) for border clearance of
international cargo
• Implies that intermediate border checks should be kept to minimum necessary for
border security (possibly only a quick inspection of transport documents against
cargo as reported on manifests)
• Desirably border inspection staff should be based permanently at dry ports or
alternatively be available on demand to undertake inspections there
• To make border clearance functions of dry ports fully effective:
• necessary to integrate different processes and documentation under single
window
• necessary to provide border control staff with the authority and IT tools (e.g.
consignee profile data) to be able to undertake pre-clearance of consignments
before arrival in dry port, or indeed in seaports
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9. Policy measures, legislation and solutions for

planning dry port development
• Generally fragmented authority for coordination and planning of dry port
development in region has limited effectiveness and delivery of government
policies and initiatives
• Many agencies and regulatory authorities involved, therefore need to set up inter-
agency coordinating committee under single transport authority (Iran provides a
good example)
• Activities of committee should be directed at delivery of following incentives to
assist development and establishment of dry ports:
a. Taxation and other financial measures (tax holidays, concessional land rent)
b. Priority development of transport infrastructure connecting to dry ports
c. Incorporation of dry ports into export processing or other free trade zones
d. Regulatory measures to assist sustainable transport connections to dry ports
• Few countries have applied financial incentives; some countries (e.g. Iran) have
subsidized private investment in transport connections; mixed success in locating
dry ports near FTZs, especially near borders where there is no industrial base;
some need to reverse past relaxation of truck weights and dimensions which has
worked against sustainable transport (examples Australia and Tajikistan)
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10. Practical options for financing development and

operation of dry ports
• Three main options:
Option 1: Financing by public sector; outsourcing of operation through management
contract with private sector
Option 2: 100% private sector financing and operation
Option 3: Public Private Partnership (PPP) variants
• Under Option 1 (applied to Khorgos project in Kazakhstan) all risk assigned to public
sector; under Option 2 (applied in Australia and Indonesia) all risk assumed by
private sector, may be unattractive to potential investors; only two applications of
Option 3 to existing dry ports (Uiwang and Lard Krabang), but PPP gaining
acceptance for new projects
• All PPP schemes involve 100% private operation and shared public private
investment; risk also shared, some involving heavy infrastructure investment by
public partner
• So far in region PPP mainly applied to highway and seaport projects with guaranteed
level and stability of demand; high level of risk associated with dry port projects due
to uncertain level and stability of demand, particularly in inland areas
• May be need for public sector to assume majority of risk to encourage PPP; in case
of Lard Krabang project, PPP scheme successful because public sector covered all
of project’s infrastructure costs, in addition to providing land
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…..Many thanks for your attention!