Cap-Haïten Port Regulatory Strengthening Project Benchmarking Report

APN is an independent government corporation under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, established in 1973 as the Port Authority of Port-au-Prince. The authority was renamed National Ports Authority in 1978 and was given the direction, control, and operation of all ports in Haiti in 1985. APN provides services to ships, ships agents, and other port users, and its main objectives are to develop competitive services for international trade, improve efficiency and reliability of the port sector, and promote private sector investment in port activities. The Government of Haiti is modernizing its port regulatory framework and conducting a procurement process to involve private investors in the development of port infrastructure at Cap Haitien Port. This new framework includes draft legislation creating two new entities - port regulator and port operator - that will be the successors of APN. The main objectives of the port modernization effort are to develop competitive services for international trade, improve efficiency and reliability of the port sector, improve port infrastructure facilities, promote private sector investment in port activities, and modernize the legal and regulatory sector framework. The USAID Cap-Haitien Port Regulatory Strengthening project aims to improve port capacity and services in the northern development corridor of Haiti to promote economic growth outside Port-au-Prince. Improving port facilities and efficiency in Cap-Haitien Port is one way to boost economic growth, which depends on imports of agricultural products for local consumption as well as for agricultural products and apparel exports. The project will assist the National Port Authority of Haiti (APN) to fulfill its role as a "landlord" port regulator, monitoring and regulating the performance of the new Cap Haitien port operator. APN manages the 14 ports of cabotage, as well as the two international sea ports in Haiti. The functions of APN headquarters include developing, maintaining, operating, and directing the public port facilities of the country, providing security services in port areas under its jurisdiction, establishing and reviewing the terms and procedures for efficient and effective management of all ports, and defining the terms and conditions for the lease of land under its jurisdiction. The head of the APN is the Director General, who oversees the following divisions: Administration department, Finance department, Technical department, Directorate of Operations, Equipment Maintenance department, Cabotage department, Security department, Commercial department, and CHP Directorate. The CHP Directorate operates as an extension of the General Directorate of APN headquarters in Port-au-Prince. The director at CHP is appointed by the minister of Economy and Finance. The CHP Directorate is responsible for providing reception and guidance services to ships as well as security. The Director of CHP oversees the daily management of public facilities according to the standards and procedures established by the Directorate General of the APN. He reports to the Director General of APN on all strategic issues, including the development of the budget, appointment of staff, and other matters related to the operation of the port. The benchmarking study conducted for the USAID Cap-Haitien Port Regulatory Strengthening project examines regulatory and sovereign public functional responsibilities in Haitian ports and presents modern institutional arrangements and best practices for managing ports used in other countries. The study assesses how gender is incorporated into management and personnel practices and proposes strategies for mitigating the negative gender impacts of the practices. The study covers the following topics: review of the current role and functions of APN, review of the Haiti national port reform process, options for regulatory oversight and statutory sovereign public functions under a landlord model, assessment of the procurement contract for PPP transactions, best practices relevant to Haiti and Cap Haitien port, case studies of ports in other countries contrasting regional port authorities and national port authorities, and recommendations for the public sector role and regulatory functions for Cap-Haitien port.