Ports are a key element of the economic development of a country but have to face with many problems of different nature, above all, linked to the governance process. In particular, some ports, due to a slow and complex bureaucracy, find difficult to become competitive on a European and international level.The paper investigates the critical issues related to port nodes and proposes a model that allows to understand which variables at governance level, can be modified to intervene in order to improve the competitiveness of a port and therefore encourage the economic development of his country. A European comparison is presented in which the individual components of the costs are analyzed.