Appendix A Terms of Reference for PIANC WG 185

MarCom PIANC WG 185 ‘Site Selection and Planning for New Ports and Specialist Marine
Terminals on Greenfield Sites – Technical Guidelines’

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Historical Background – Definition of the Problem

PIANC WG 158 considered masterplans for the development of existing ports. It specifically
excluded discussion on the site selection and development of new ports and marine terminals
on green field sites, but concentrated on the planning requirements for the expansion of existing
ports.

While the technical guidelines given in PIANC WG 158 report on port planning are equally
relevant to the development of ports and terminals on new greenfield sites, this working group
should consider the additional issues involved in the early planning and design stages of such
new port and maritime facilities. These issues include:

• identifying and evaluating options and defining the optimum location for new
development
• consideration of geotechnical and environmental parameters of the development site
• considering the operational performance needs of the port or terminal
• considering the economic issues, particularly the relationship of a new site with the
existing area and hinterland links
• considering urban and transport networks planning
• considering the impact a new port may have in terms of new logistics chains or a change
(a major one in some cases) to existing logistics chains
• the integration of these geotechnical and environmental conditions with economic issues
and the operational criteria to optimise new greenfield port or terminal development

2. Objective of the Study

This Working Group follows on naturally from the report of PIANC WG 158 – ‘Port Planning for
the Development of Existing Ports’ and considers the specific issues concerned with the site
selection and planning of new ports and marine terminals on green field sites.

The design of the new port or marine terminal facilities on a new site must take into consideration
a wide range of environmental parameters including geology, wind and wave climate, water
levels, currents, visibility, sediment transport and environmental/ecological sensitivities.

The study should critically review state-of-the-art site selection and evaluation techniques for
new sites as well as provide general guidelines on the physical planning of new ports and
terminals, with case studies where possible.

3. Earlier Reports to be Reviewed

There are a number of PIANC publications which are of relevance to this Working Group:

MarCom WG 158 Masterplans for the Development of Existing Ports 2014

Overview of Design Codes and Guidelines for Harbour
MarCom WG 160 To be published
Structures
MarCom WG 164 Upgrade of Port Terminals by Increasing Dredged Depth To be published
MarCom WG 167 Design of terminals for RoRo and RoPax vessels To be published
MarCom WG 171 Ship Handling Simulation To be published

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 Design of Small- to Mid-Scale Marine LNG Terminals
MarCom WG 172 2016
Including Bunkering
MarCom WG 121 (Ex-MarCom WG 49) Harbour Approach Channels Design Guidelines 2014
Design Principles for Container Terminals in Small and
MarCom WG 135 2014
Medium Ports
Initial Assessment of Environmental Effects of Navigation
EnviCom WG 143 2014
and Infrastructure Projects
EnviCom WG 150 ‘Sustainable Ports’ – A guide for Port Authorities 2014
Design and Operational Guidelines for Superyacht
RecCom WG 134 2013
Facilities
EnviCom WG 136 Sustainable Maritime Navigation 2013
MarCom WG 115 Criteria for the (Un)loading of Container Vessels 2012
Use of Hydro/Meteo Information for Port Access and
MarCom WG 117 2012
Operations
Safety Aspects Affecting the Berthing Operations of
MarCom WG 116 2012
Tankers to Oil and Gas Terminals
EnviCom TG 2 Towards a Sustainable Waterborne Transportation Industry 2011
MarCom WG 112 Mitigation of Tsunami Disasters in Ports 2010
Climate Change and Navigation – Waterborne Transport,
EnviCom TG3 Ports and Waterways: A Review of Climate Change 2008
Drivers, Impacts, Responses and Mitigation
MarCom WG 35 Dangerous Cargoes in Ports 2000
PTC2 report of WG 18 Planning of Fishing Ports 1998
PTC2 report of WG 11 Port Facilities for Ferries – A Practical Guide 1995
Criteria for Movements of Moored Vessels in Harbours – A
PTC2 report of WG 24 1995
Practical Guide

4. Matters to be Investigated

The primary requirements for a new greenfield port or marine terminal are:

• to be accessible or located close to the main centres of cargo supply/delivery

• to have suitable onshore areas for storage and processing (e.g. if it is a specialist
marine terminal to handle bulk solids or LNG)
• to be located in a sheltered area for operations and provide a safe marine access to
the berth(s)

If these criteria are not available naturally then there will be a need for them to be artificially
created by dredging of access channels and manoeuvring areas and creation of protected water
areas using artificial breakwaters. The key objectives to be considered at planning stage are to:

• ensure minimal risk to safe marine access

• ensure safe conditions for loading/unloading operations
• minimise the construction and operational costs and implementation schedule and
• mitigate any risks to construction and operations

The location of a new port should therefore be based on a selection and comparison between
alternatives in relation to various criteria:

 maritime approach
 port development (water and land development)
 logistics areas adjoining the port
 possibility of urban development
 connections to general networks in terms of:
- land transport
- power grid
- water supply
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The Working Group should therefore review the best methodology and available techniques to
ensure a logical and coherent process in the identification and evaluation of new port and
terminal sites and the overall strategic port masterplan development of the site, based on the
port masterplan guidelines proposed in WG 158.

5. Method of Approach

The WG should collect and review of all relevant information and documents, define the table of
contents and organise the Working Group by assigning specific tasks (and a deadline) to each
member. The WG should define the best format and content to produce a comprehensive and
easy-to-use document.

In particular, in order to understand the physical constraints of the site on the project,
comprehensive data is required on the following items:

• the bathymetry of the site gained from hydrographic surveys and navigation charts
• wind climate taken from long term meteorological records, if possible
• wave climate data taken form long term records, if possible
• the seismicity of the area gained from historical records and site surveys
• current movement measured on site, if possible
• topographical data taken from land surveys and satellite imagery
• environmental constraints
• geotechnical conditions

The WG will need experts able to identify and address each of these issues. The determination
of geological/geotechnical conditions required extensive survey and investigation work, while
metocean conditions normally requires both on-site data collection and computational modelling
including wave climate models, current models, sediment transport models and shoreline
evolution models.

In addition, the operational performance needs must be determined in terms of design vessels
sizes, marine access, shipping downtime, cargo operations and storage requirements, taking
into consideration the metocean conditions affecting the marine terminal operations.

The Working Group should also address the impact of port development on overall logistics
chains, both new and existing. Even in the case of a new port dedicated to a single industry,
there could be additional opportunities or benefits to be gained in developing other kinds of
traffic.

The Working with Nature concept should be considered.

6. Suggested Final Product of the Working Group

Technical report providing guidelines for site selection and evaluation of new sites for the
development of ports and specialist marine terminals, underlining main principles and
recommendations. The report should concentrate on the physical and economic considerations
for development of ports and terminals on greenfield sites. It should not deal with the general
port planning and development issues covered by WG 158 (port lay-out, port zoning, general
performances to be fulfilled), nor with the detailed planning and design of specific port terminals
which are covered by other PIANC WG reports.

The report should provide special emphasis on:

• identifying possible methodological approaches to site selection and evaluation of

greenfield ports and terminals, pointing out critical aspects and possible solutions (the
‘process’)

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• providing a comprehensive general check-list of the issues to be addressed, such as
metocean studies, geotechnical investigations, economic assessments including traffic
forecasts and hinterland links, technical studies, model tests and navigation simulation,
environmental studies, cost-benefit studies, economical/financial studies
• providing a selected list of any relevant technical standards and codes of practice
(international and/or national) and of the selected bibliography commonly used for the
specific technical aspects of site selection and evaluation for new greenfield ports and
terminals
• including selected case-studies pointing out ‘lessons learnt’ from them.

7. Desirable Disciplines of the Members of the Working Group

Port planners and designers, metocean and geotechnical specialists, environmental experts,
economic experts, urban planners. Also, Sister Associations, such as IAPH, should be invited to
the Working Group.

8. Relevance for Countries in Transition

The report should provide valuable guidance for countries in transition, based on the fact that
they have a significant requirement for ‘know-how’ in site selection and evaluation for new
greenfield ports and terminals, in the light of an environmentally sustainable development of port
infrastructure.

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