African ports face volume overload

Major traffic growth is one
of several fundamental
challenges facing the African
port system in the years ahead,
said Jerome Ntibarekerwa, the
secretary general of the Port
Management Association of
Eastern & Southern Africa
(PMAESA).
Speaking at the Africa
Ports and Harbour Congress
in Sandton last week,
Ntibarekerwa said port
container traffic demand was
expected to quadruple by 2020
and had already triggered the
need for more than
US$9.5 billion (about
R60 billion) in terminal
developments.
“The rapid growth in traffic
is already putting pressure on
the ports system. Shipping
lines have serious concerns
about the condition, capability
and future reliability of ports,
road and rail services and
infrastructure,” he said.
Furthermore, port
customers want competitive
service and prices. “Strong
competition exists among
global supply chains to attract
customers, and transportation
is increasingly important in
buying decisions,” he said.
Ntibarekerwa pointed
out that ports were pivotal
to economic growth but
ensuring they provided the
desired benefits required
a real political will, good
governance and transparency
in adjudication criteria and
in decision-making in case of
concession and privatisation
processes.
“Removal of bottlenecks
relating to policy, regulatory,
bureaucracy and the
introduction of fiscal and nonfiscal
incentives will increase
connectivity and cop-operation
between African ports,” he
added.