The North's Minister of Regional Development, Mr Gregory Campbell, has ended more than three years of uncertainty over the future of the Port of Belfast by stating it will remain a public trust.

However, he also gave Belfast Harbour Commissioners wider commercial powers and greater financial freedom.

The commissioners welcomed Mr Campbell's decision, saying it would assist their objective of ensuring the port became a "fully integrated port, transport and logistics business".

The debate over the port's future began in December 1997, when the commissioners urged the transfer of the port into private ownership through a public flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Under the terms of an initiative put forward the following year by British Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, some £70 million sterling (#111.57 million) of the proceeds from any sale would have been used for a range of road improvement schemes. The Treasury would have clawed back any cash raised over and above the £70 million. But the commissioners opposed this, saying the complete proceeds should be used for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland.

The then Secretary of State extended consultation arrangements on the proposals in December 1998, and this led to the creation of an Assembly ad-hoc committee to consider the port's future. Its report was published in July 1999.

Four basic options were examined:

a public/private partnership as originally proposed by Belfast Harbour Commissioners;

a partial sell-off, retaining property interests in the public sector, as suggested by an Assembly ad-hoc committee;

an enhanced public/private partnership proposal;

retention of trust port status but with enhanced powers.

The commissioners favoured the public/private partnership (PPP), with a "golden share" being retained by government as the best way commercially to develop the port and protect the public interest. Meanwhile, the department put forward another option for consideration: a restructured trust port with extended powers.

There had been strong opposition to any plans for a complete sell-off, and Mr Campbell said his difficulty in reaching a decision had been to come up with a solution which took account of the opposing views. Behind his decision, he said, was the wish to ensure that the Port of Belfast could compete equally with Dublin. And although a public-private partnership had not been entirely ruled out, Mr Campbell said this should not be considered for at least another five years.

"There have been those who wanted Belfast port to be almost a private marketeers' paradise," he said. "But because there was and is a substantial amount of non-port land within the confines of the Harbour Estate, there were many on the other side of the political equation who were concerned that the non-port land could well have been sold off, and that in such a case the people of Northern Ireland would be the losers."

A spokesman for Belfast Harbour Commissioners said the Minister's announcement meant the port and the Harbour Estate would continue to be owned and managed by the commissioners.

"In line with all trust ports, accountability will be outlined in legislation which will include a requirement to consult the Department of Regional Development in advance of any planned change in land use or disposal of harbour land," he said. "The Commissioners are fully aware of the strategic importance of the Harbour Estate and have undertaken to enter into a voluntary agreement with the department pending the introduction of the necessary legislation."

Mr Campbell and the regional development committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, however, are not agreed on who should have the final say on the issue. As a member of the anti-Belfast agreement DUP, Mr Campbell does not attend meetings of the Stormont Executive, and he insists the decision on the port rested with his department. He said he had sent a "courtesy" memo to First Minister David Trimble and Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon.

But regional development committee chairman Alban Maginness said the Executive's rubber-stamp was vital. Mr Maginness said the committee's deliberations, which included an economic appraisal, had been to protect the public interest and to ensure the port remained competitive and successful.

"This is not a decision which can be taken independently by the minister," Mr Maginness said. "It's a decision taken in consultation with and approval of the Executive. Otherwise the necessary legislation will not materialise."