CURRENT INVESTMENT TRENDS IN THE PORT INDUSTRY

Abstract

Introduction. The tasks of sustainable development of the port industry, which cannot be solved without investing in port infrastructure, determine the relevance of the research of investment trends in the industry. To define the need for investments, economic justification of investment directions and sources of investment financing, it is necessary to study the main factors that affect investment activity in the port industry, and to determine current trends in this field. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to determine investment trends in the port industry at the current stage of its development. Results. The main economic and technological drivers of the investment activity in the port industry in the context of sustainable development have been systematized. Assessment of the dynamics of the gross volume of cargo handled in the ports and the directions of investment in the port infrastructure by cargo segments was carried out. The main trends in the development of investment in the port infrastructure were defined. Conclusions. The main trends in the development of investment in the port infrastructure include: changes in the geographic structure of investments due to the increase in the volume of maritime trade and cargo handled in the seaports of the countries of Southeast Asia and the Middle East; changes in the structure of investments by cargo segments due to the slowdown in the development of container trade and the higher growth rates of bulk dry cargo transportation; increased need for investment in the port infrastructure to eliminate technological constraints associated with increasing size and complexity of sea vessels; changes in the directions of investments for energy transition and sustainable development, intensification of the impact on investment activity of technological changes – digital transformation in seaports and greening of supply chains; change in the orientation of investment activity to the concept for the sustainable development of port companies, which often involves projects with high social value; investments in the industry contribute to the transformation of seaports from multimodal centers to centers of innovation and sustainable development; investments lead to an increase in the role of seaports as an important component of the geopolitical and economic stability of countries and regions; the need for investment in new port areas outside urban areas due to the impact of coastal urbanization on port development.