Basic Port Plans will be Settled by July 2001

The Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries (MOMAF) has commenced this June
, an outsourcing project to prepare maritime port conditions and to dr
aft basic longterm plans for ports to cope with changes in cargo deman
ds in the 21st century. These should be finished by July next year.
Domestic ports in Korea handled 99.7 percent of all export and import
cargoes. The most important ports, howerver, have chronic vessel and f
reight congestion problems. Those problems cost 334 billion won in eco
nomic losses and hinder the nation's competitiveness in the internati
onal market.
Accoring to Port Law, a basic port plan will be established every 10 y
ears to promote development in ports and stimulate port administration
to strive for improvement. As port cargo amounts were 780 million ton
s in 1999, and are expected to rise to 1,430 million in 2011 and 1,990
million in 2020, the basic port plans must insure that port faciliti
es continue to handle cargoes smoothly and are properly and punctually
supplied with modern equipment and that existing port plans are revis
ed to generate and reflect long term port development methods and inve
stment plans. MOMAF will confirm this long term basic port plan by the
end of 2001