Container port design process is a set of correlated practices considered during container port design, aiming to transfer general business mission into detailed design documents for future construction and operation.
The design process involves both conceptual design and detailed design.
Funding
The source of funding determines the mission and scope of the project. Choices include federal funding (subsidies), state or local funding, and private funding.
American ports require subsidies from the federal government in order to keep up with advances in maritime transportation as well as the capabilities of the inland freight movement. Often, roughly 50% of the costs every year come from federal sources. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is an association that aims at ensuring and increasing federal funds to American ports.
A few federal bills which provide funding for ports are
Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act: $11 billion in funding to assist in surface transportation improvements National Highway Freight Program (NHFP): at least $10 billion in funding reorganized for more efficient use in transportation improvements
Most often, the State's Department of Transportation (DOT) is the largest state/local financier of public money investments. The DOTs see the ports as key elements in the systems of movement they are responsible for, such as railways and highways.
Investment from private entities is critical to the creation and execution of port activities. American ports are often run by private entities in the sense that day-to-day functions are financed and managed with the primary goal of creating revenue. The municipalities of the terminals are kept up by the Port Authority, but the equipment and infrastructure required for operations are under the private entities' power.
With the creation of new ports, often Public-Private Partnerships, otherwise known as 3P, are formed to bring in the upfront capital necessary for someone to take on the financial risk of operating a terminal. Container terminals are no different in this sense from other types of terminals.
Cargo
Cargo determines the main function, transportation mode, and related characters required for the container port. In container port design, the object cargo is an intermodal container. Containers are usually classified as 20-foot and 40-foot. 53-foot containers were introduced and used both in the US and Canada, mainly for domestic road and rail transport.
Vessels
The type of vessel, its dimension, and capacity determine the required capacity for a port's input capacity, which involves berth design, water-borne handling equipment selection, and requirements for both storage and land-mode capacity.
The characteristics of vessels and the port characteristics: Main dimensions: length, which determines the widths and bends of the channel, size required for the terminal, and maximum number of berths; the breadth and air draft, which influences cargo-handing equipment selection, and the width of channels; draft, which determines the depth along berths. Cargo Capacity, which control over the cargo ship requirements (minimum) of storage, and can affect the loading and unloading processing, usually cranes/ship. Designed vessel Function. Whether vessel has cargo handling equipment/ how it load cargo. Usually, container vessels require external handling equipment. Vessel routine shall also get considered as the inter-modal capability requirement for import, export, and trans-ship service will be different.
The selection of designed vessel shall also consider the development of the container ship. Underestimating the trend of size development of container ship will result in incapability and low sustainability.
Location
It should start with data collection and get finished by receiving government permits. The choice of location is considered with the philosophy of triple-bottom line and with considerations of waterside access, natural conditions, inter-modal connections, and stakeholders.
For ports
Promotion of the advanced development of the urban and regional economy; The requirement of vessel's maneuvering, braking, harbor navigation, berthing operations; Greenfield site for general port development, such as new quays, reclamation, or breakwater. For container terminals The availability of deep water; The environmental site conditions including oceanographic and meteorological conditions; The availability of land; Good inland transport link or intermodal connections; The soil conditions