Evaluation of development partnership scenarios of the Croatian seaports using MAMCA analysis

The aim of this paper is to evaluate development partnership scenarios of the seaports in the Republic of Croatia using the Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA). Previous author’s research indicated a number of effects and criteria that PPPs need to achieve in order to ensure sustainable port development. However, implementation of partnership models in seaports in the Republic of Croatia has not reached its full potential although there has been significant progress over the last ten years. For that reason, the evaluation of the partnership models in Croatian seaports is a poorly researched issue. The author has defined three models of port development according to the degree of private investors’ involvement in Croatian ports (status quo, minimal participation and maximal participation of private sector). The author uses MAMCA as a tool to evaluate the PPP model, using relevant criteria for the evaluation of public-private partnerships (economical-financial, organizational, technical-technological, social criteria and the criteria aiming at harmonization with the policies of the European Union), from relevant stakeholders’ point of view (public interest, private interest and the interest of the wider community). The research results show that the best-evaluated model is maximal participation of private sector. It has positive influence on port development from economic and technological side, it directly contributes to different stakeholder’s interests, and in the long term, it contributes to the local community development.