Harbours
There are just under 50 harbour funds in Iceland and their number has decreased somewhat in recent years following mergers among small municipalities and the establishment of port associations. Harbours and coastal protection structures are owned by the municipalities, which are also in charge of their operation. The state provides support for harbour projects by undertaking and funding basic research in full, and also provides financial support for new harbour projects.
The IMA's most important harbour tasks involve responsibility for state-sponsored coastal protection and harbour projects, research, and planning for the development of coastal protections and harbours. Every two years, a four year-harbour plan is drawn up for the development of harbour installations and submitted to Parliament for approval. In recent years new development projects have been conducted in 30-40 harbours a year, for an average of ISK 900-1200 million annually. Most harbour projects are tendered out. The IMA monitors the technical and financial aspects of state-sponsored projects and reports on them annually to the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Parliament. The IMA also monitors the construction of coastal protections.
The Harbour Development Fund is in the custody of the IMA. Its role is to compensate for damage to harbour installations caused by natural disasters. The fund also issues grants to new harbour projects.