The Port of Hamburg is a significant economic factor for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. In addition, it has great significance nationally and internationally as a hub and for the global exchange of goods. In a first step, the port management was modernised in 2005 with the spin-off of the Hamburg Port Authority AöR and the legal separation of central port management functions.
The Hamburg Port Authority AöR (HPA) has now been inspected, 14 years after its foundation, to determine whether it still has adequate structures for modern and effective port management. In order to accommodate the needs and suggestions of the companies and their employees, the associations and trade unions representing them were involved in a structured participation process initiated for this purpose.
The review revealed the need to restructure port management.
The core elements of the restructuring are the
focus on the key tasks of port management, strengthening customer-oriented port
management and setting up a “one-stop-shop” with customs, evaluating
and possibly expanding existing 24/7 accessibility with HPA (“Port
Hotline”) and the clear separation of economic and purely public-sovereign
activities.
The restructuring will achieve a sustainable, solid business model for the HPA as a whole. The area of transferred state tasks is enabled by budgetary support to produce and maintain public infrastructure at the usual high level. As a result, additional approvals are still required in the current double budget. In the competitive field, the HPA generates sustainable surpluses, which are also used for extensive investments and modernisation in the port. Overall, the funds available for the port will increase to more than EUR 300 million per year, which underlines FHH’s significance for the port of Hamburg.
