b'OCTOBER 2025INLAND PORTS 27(ESSENTIALcontinuedEurope, Africa, and Asia. ports are about function, nottainer depots with on-site cus- well-connected parcels of land from page 24) We see more integrationlabels.WithLosAngeles/ toms officials allow boxes tonear rail and highways. Urban-from the deep seaports withLongBeachoverwhelmedleave marine terminals almostizationandhighlandprices D oi nLanDP orTSr eLieve inlanddryportsdevelopedduringCOVID,containersimmediately,reducingportmakesuitablesitesscarce.In c ongeSTion ? byglobalportoperators.Itwereevacuatedinlandtodwell times and gaining landthe U.S. Midwest, land aroundHelbing said the resultswillbecounterproductiveifdepots and warehouse parksarea for container handling asChicagosrailhubisexpen-aremixedonwhetherdryeachglobalterminalopera- intheCentralValleyandclearance shifts offsite. Wheresivewithcompetinginterests portshaveeasedcongestiontor develops its own network.InlandEmpire.Thoughnotcustomsisabsent,dryportsbyindustrial,residential,and at seaports. Due to space constraints andformallydryports,Kentfunctionmorelikecontainercommercialusers,hesaid. Yes and No. On severalsynergies, the industry shouldsaid, these facilities relievedstorage depots and lose a coreCommunitiesoftenresist occasions,weseeambitionsstrivetowardscommon-usercongestion by absorbing over- advantage,Kentsaid.Thelargelogisticsprojectsdueto tochangethemodality,forfacilitieswithefficientrailflowandprocessingfreightVirginiaInlandPortissuc- concernsovertrucktraffic, example, reduce the road con- connectivity,Helbingsaid.outsidetheimmediateportcessful in part because it oper- noise, and air quality. The Utah gestion in and around the portsEspecially with future roadarea. Here, the benefit is notates as an extended gate ofInland Port (UIP) in Salt Lake and move more on barges andpricing, it is the expectationjust seaport congestion reliefthePortofVirginia,sharingCity faced lawsuits and pro-rail connections, especially inthatrailand,wherepossi- but enabling last-mile logis- IT systems and management.tests from local residents who North Europe. Unfortunately,ble,inlandwaterwaymove- tics closer to demand. Withoutsuchalignment,opposedtheenvironmental roadtransportationscom- mentswillbecomemoreDryportsarepressuredryportscanaddcomplex- impacts and questioned gov-petitivetariffsandflexibilitycost-competitive,combinedvalveswhereverconges- ity.Somedryportssucceedernancearrangements.UIP still dominate, Helbing said.withshorterandzero-emis- tionorlandscarcitymakesevenwhenlocatedfarfromwasconceivedasasingle Additionalroadpricingission final deliveries. A betterit necessary, inland facilitiesseaports, because they act asmega-terminalbutfaced likelyneededtoreallyshiftcoordinationbetweenportscanservethesamerole,distribution hubs aligned withstrong resistance on environ-themodalityandreducetheandinlandterminals,andKent said. hinterland markets. mental and political grounds. lastdeliverykilometers.Ofespeciallywarehousing24/7Kentsaidtheeffective- He said land availability,The UIP concept then shifted course, there are also successoperations is needed to allownessofdryportsdependscommunityacceptance,andtoadistributedmodel,with storieswherenewdryportsfor most efficiencies. on three factors: rail serviceenvironmentalscrutinyaresmallernodesspreadacross supporttheportintakingquality, customs presence andgrowingconstraintsondryUtahinsteadofonelarge trucks off the road and movingf uncTionn oTL abeLS seaport coordination.port locations. hub,toreduceconcentrated the containers inland by rail.KentstressedthatdryInIndia,inlandcon-Dry ports require large,congestion/activity. However, to be cost-competi-tive, higher volumes and block trains are required. For exam-ple, the Venlo Dry Port in the Netherlands - located near the border of Germany - started as a rail-connected dry port but hasdevelopedintoalarger logisticscomplex:theVenlo Greenport. It is a true gateway toGermanywithmorethan 200internationalcompanies establishedsincethe1980s and is Hollands main export hub for Agrifood.(However)itisbecom-ingmorechallenging,espe-ciallywhentheinlanddry ports are close to population centers, they will face similar constraints in development as the main seaports. New devel-opments tend to be closer to industrial and logistic sites.Haskoning has supported dry port development across the world including:Al Rawdah Freezone (DP World) is a 100 km2 dry port at the border between the UAE and Oman. Situated between the ports of Sohar and Dubai, thedryportisanexcellent place to shift low-value oper-ations from the seaports to the hinterland. The operations are land-consumingandcannot be hosted in the crowded ports such as Dubai.SaudiGlobalPorts(a subsidiaryofPSAInterna-tional, formerly Port of Sin-gaporeAuthority)hasbeen awardeda10-yearconces-sion by SAR to operate three dry ports. Tashkent Dry Port Devel-opment - the new owner of a dry port in Tashkent needed to invest in new civil structures, staff, equipment and systems tomodernizethefacilityto supporttrafficgrowthfrom theregionsOneBeltOne Road (OBOR) development. TangerMedportcom-plex, which includes a major dry port, has been a big suc-cessstoryduetoitsstrate-giclocationattheStraitof Gibraltar,whichconnects'