Considering the actual economic and logistic situation within Europe, Regional Entrepreneurial ports are confronted with the consequences of this situation. Moreover, they face a lack of sufficient public resources and capacity to implement port strategies in the longer term. Finally, the EU commission is financing major iinfrastructure within the core and comprehensive TEN-T networks, whereby sustainability is not a criterium for the construction works. Within this investment-scheme, regional entrepreneurial ports are not even considered.

Therefore, Regional entrepreneurial ports need to be more creative, innovative and ressource efficient, and strengthen their links with the regional economies in order to realise low carbon logistics and diversify their activities in order to guarantee a sustainable economic development.

The project seeks to strenghten the entrepreneurial capicities, the resource efficiency and the maritime competences of Regional Entrepreneurial ports, in order to guarantee improved low carbon logistics.

The aim of the project is to encourage Regional entrepreneurial ports and their industrial clusters to cooperate for developing more sustainable logistic services and well-based and innovative economic development ,in order to take up their role in regional logistics as well as to take up their role in EU strategies like Blue Growth (DG Mare). The project focuses on 3 core areas, namely : infrastructure, management and logistics.

* Utilities : innovation, experiments and implementation of resource efficiency in port operations and related logistic operations (increasing jointly the adaptability to new EU regulations)

* Abilities: strengthening regional and interregional port management cooperation in order to strengthen their competences and to diversify their economic activities

* Low carbon logistics : strengthening the Regional Enterpreneurial North Sea ports and their hinterland industries , by connecting them to the major TEN-T core and comprehensive networks , by capitalising on their regional economic potential

* Valorisation and promotion of economic added value of Regional Entrepreneurial Ports, bringing value for money to the region

* SWOT and Economic Impact Anqlysis of the traffic related situation of Regional entrepreneurial ports as the relative accessibility of these ports and their hinterlands to the core and comprehensive Ten-T networks

* testing of new technologies in order to make the Regional Entrepreneurial ports more ressource efficient or in order to recycle steel, concrete and other materials

* testing of new technologies for the own production of energy in ports in order to realise a low carbon strategy

* joint port management cooperation in order to realise the low carbon logistics for the ports and their hinterlands

* Netherlands: Zwolle, Meppel, Kampen

* Denmark : Skagen, Aero, Copenhagen South ports

* Germany: HWWI

* Belgium: Oostende port, POM West-Vlaanderen (inland terminal Wielsbeke)

* China: Shangai Maritime institute, Haikou port

Smaller and Medium-seized Entrepreneurial ports from:

* Norway

* England

* Scotland

* Sweden