Amar Ramudhin, director of Supply Chain Management & Technology at Georgia Tech's Supply Chain & Logistics Institute (SCL), and Don Ratliff, executive director of SCL, were authors of a study released at the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Panama March 14-17, 2013.  The study, titled "Assessment of Port Performance and Port Connectivity Study in Belize, Central America, and the Dominican Republic," evaluates the performance of 18 ports in Belize, Central America, and the Dominican Republic, and suggests initiatives that could improve trade in the region.

According to the report, “The result of this study points to the need of an integrated intermodal sea-land network to foster global trade and trade exchanges between the various countries. The recommendation for governments of the region is to optimize road infrastructure and connectivity between regions of production/consumptions and develop strong and resilient road links to ports. Access roads should be developed to support container traffic and reduce delays in container pick-up and delivery.”

The study, conducted by Ramudhin with the Georgia Tech Logistics Innovation & Research Center Panama, included individual country reports and the Think Piece assessing overall port performance and the impact of the widening of the Panama Canal on the countries studied.  

“The expansion of the Panama Canal will very likely create one or more mega hubs on the Atlantic side and it is crucial that countries work with the carriers and liner services to develop good connectivity with these hubs,” said Ramudhin.  “The ports in Panama and Caucedo in the Dominican Republic are natural candidates as no other ports in this study, whether in the Pacific or Atlantic, can handle the larger vessels that will come through the expanded Canal.  But even these ports have to improve their performance and capability to handle the larger ship efficiently.”

Click here to view a pdf of the full report.