How much is Pusan Port worth?

Pusan Port handles over 80% of container cargoes nationwide, and will hand over management and operation to the Pusan Port Authority from next year in order to boost competitiveness. The currently state owned Pusan Port will be recapitalized for the Port Authority. In order to do so, the government needs to accurately evaluate Pusan Port? worth before turning over control of the facilities and equipment to the Pusan Port Authority.
The Pusan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office precisely measured berth and wharf length with the Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation as a start to the value assessment. Nobody truly knows how much Pusan Port is worth because it has never been audited since opening 100 years ago. Only Pusan MOMAF has put a book value on the state owned properties. Pusan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries places the port? worth at 2.97 trillion won, 84% of which is land, such as container yards. The 246 buildings on the wharfs were estimated at 168 billion won, breakwater and berths at 311 billion won and 9 state-owned vessels at 2.6 billion won.
An accurate assessment should be available by the end of September when the measurements are complete. The government value assessment has been used to set terminal lease prices for terminal operating companies, however, the real value is likely to be far more than that. Besides real-estate, the port facilities include management rights such as stevedoring incomes. The KCTA sold its 25% share in Shinsundae Terminal, the largest container dedicated terminal, to the highest bidder, Kukje Transportation Co. Ltd, for 30.1 billion won. The price was 25.6 times higher than the original construction costs. Consequently, Pusan Port? value may well soar astronomically above its current valuation once intangibles are incorporated. After settling on the final value by November 20 with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Pusan MOMAF will hand over real-estate rights to the Pusan Port Authority by the end of 2003.