Venezuelan ports master plans facing neighbord ports and globalization process

Globalization has been supported by improvements in transport technology and massive investments in transport infrastructures (Rodrigue, 1999), having repercussions on ports. The objective of this paper is to present the current situation of Venezuelan ports La Guaira and Puerto Cabello within the globalization process and facing neighbor ports considered as direct competitors because of their geographical location, as the ports of Cartagena, El Callao and Santos. The methodology used was documental and the main result was that although modernization works are been performed at Venezuelan ports, once they are finished, are not going to bring the ports to the position of their nearest competitor yet, El Callao, reason why ports master plans in Venezuelan should continue in order to impulse them to the level of their geographical competitors, in volume and equipments, looking to impulse Venezuelan ports to the position they had in the 1996 worldwide and regional port ranking.