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Conceptualising the Project

This project is a collaborative effort, funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), between Professor Andrew Wells and Dr Tim Scrase and Meyrick and Associates. Meyrick and Associates are economics, policy and management consultants specialising in the transport and infrastructure sectors. The project commenced in 2003 and employs a full-time research fellow, Douglas Hill.

The Asia Pacific region is the world’s fastest growing zone of maritime trade and port development. The region is experiencing changes in port operations, organisation, management, labour relations and ownership patterns. These changes are occurring concurrently with significant changes in global maritime trade including the merging of international and regional maritime operators, and the consolidation of maritime corridors and nodal ports. These economic changes create challenges and opportunities for port authorities concerned about corporate social responsibility for social and economic sustainability.

The project studies five different ports in Asia-Pacific and Australia that together may yield significant insights into the challenges of sustainability in a comparative perspective. The ports examined are Port Kembla (Australia), Port Klang (Malaysia), Saigon Port (Vietnam), Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Calcutta (India). The research examines the social impact of changes to these ports through: labour and community relations; dockland development, links to port hinterland; and the measurement of social impact. By examining these aspects of port transformation in five distinct settings, we seek to better understand the social impact of changes to these ports and to construct appropriate concepts and measures to better inform the architects and managers of change and to subsequently assess their impact. While current economic analysis enables some aspects of changing corporate behaviour to be assessed, it proves either too limited or incapable of assessing the complex articulation of economic, social and environmental change. This project will generate a framework to both monitor and manage the so-called ‘triple bottom line’ in the port sector.

Contact

Postal Address:
SIATAPP
Faculty of Arts
University of Wollongong
Northfields Avenue
Wollongong NSW 2522
Australia

All enquiries to:
Dr Tim Scrase (Coordinator)
Phone: +61 2 4221 3744
Fax: +61 2 4221 5341
Email: tims@uow.edu.au