Africa has US$45 bn logistics 'spending gap'

Road haulage will
continue to move
increasing tonnages in
Africa as the continent
tries to play logistics
infrastructure “catch
up” with the rest of the
developing world.
Across the continent
African countries
are falling behind in
competitiveness due to
a lack of investment in
logistics infrastructure,
according to De Buys
Scott, head of the KPMG
Global Infrastructure
advisory in Africa.
“Africa has a history
of underdevelopment of
infrastructure – across
roads, railways, airports,
ports and harbours,” he
says.
Around US$45 billion
is currently being invested
in infrastructure.
However, US$90-100
billion a year is needed to
catch up with other major
developing countries.
Even then, it has been
estimated that there is a
US$45-bn “spending gap”.
The challenge facing
miners in Africa is often
that there is too much
bulk stock in one region
or country that does not
have a direct line from
pit-to-port – and to create
this access would require
significant investment
into the infrastructure.
“On the other hand,
we are also faced with
regions or countries
where the volumes of
resources that are being
extracted from the mines
aren’t large enough to
justify a business case
for investment in large
transport infrastructure
development.”
Rail holds the key, but
the emphasis is likely
to be on the movement
of bulk rather than
containers.
“The major constraint
to the export of resources
– specifically coal,
manganese and iron
ore – from the mining
sector is around rail
infrastructure and this
is severely hampering
the sector and the
economy in general, as
currently these bulk
resources are often being
transported by road,
which is uneconomic
and disproportionately
damaging to the road
infrastructure.
African ports also need
to modernise. “There is
also a global trend for
ports to become more
involved in value added
activities such as cargo
processing and logistics,
which will require new
processes, practices and
technological advances
around stock control
and integration, as well
as connectivity,” says
Michael Fletcher, regional
sales director for Ruckus
Wireless sub-Saharan
Africa.