A new Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) report has raised concern that the myriad expansions, upgrades and investments in ports on the continent in recent years have not improved the operation of inland logistics and supply chains.
African ports have received an estimated $15 billion in investments since 2005, allowing them to upgrade and modernise to accommodate larger vessels and offload higher cargo volumes for transportation across the continent.
According to data released by the African Development Bank, this ongoing port development has led to increased container traffic. The number of container units moving through African ports increased by nearly 50%, from 24.5 million to 35.8m between 2011 and 2021.
AFC’s 2024 report, titled ‘State of Africa's Infrastructure,” has noted that increased port capacity has yet to lead to an efficient logistical supply chain across the continent.
According to the researchers, African governments have neglected road and railway networks, which are of poor quality, underused and unevenly distributed, which limits their usefulness to trade and industry.
Poor road corridors, especially outside coastal areas, which are not good for trucks, make it difficult for business. In some instances, trucks can spend more than ten days in three landlocked countries.
Jonas Aryee, head of Maritime Economics and International Trade Modules at Plymouth University in England, speaking to VOA News, said human factors also made it difficult to transport goods across Africa.
"Some countries are still not opening up, and they're protecting their local industries from those of their fellow African countries,” Aryee said.
"You will find several roadblocks — from police, from customs, from gendarmes — in many countries when goods are going through,” he said. “And it's made the cost of doing business in Africa so high."
The AFC report indicates that Africa has 680 000 kilometres of paved roads, just 10% of the total in India, which has a similar population but only a tenth of the land area.
According to the report, investments in ports are forecast to continue, and several new terminals have been announced for development in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Experts say countries need to form a joint team to invest in, build and manage highways to improve the free flow of goods and people on the continent.
