Despite appalling infrastructure, opportunity beckons

With transporters into Angola
reporting difficult seaport
conditions, hair-raising road
use tales, and frustration at sluggish
customs procedures, the question
“Why bother?” can be answered with a
simple reply: “It’s the economy.”
True, seven years after the country’s
devastating civil war concluded in
1992 the economy is moving from
a very low point, but Angola’s real
growth rate of 13.2% in 2008, down
from an amazing 19.6% in 2006
because of a global economic slump
that dampened demand for Angolan oil,
is the fourth highest in the world.
Growth in industrial production last
year was 14.3%, ranking it number
one. That’s right, Angola had the
world’s highest industrial growth rate,
and transporters know it. They are the
ones who ship industrial inputs up from
SA or arrange sea transport from the
EU and US.
Much of what is moved is for the
oil sector, which comprises 85% of
industrial activity. Angola is the
world’s 17th largest oil producer,
pumping out 1.91 million barrels of oil
a day of its estimated reserves of nine
billion barrels. Shipments overseas
account for a lopsided export/import
profile. Angola’s exports were
$67 billion last year, up from
$44 billion in 2007, while imports
stood at $17 billion.
With the country’s 2764-km long
railway system still inadequate from
decades of conflict, the choice for
shippers is road, air and sea. Angola
may have 211 “airports,” but only
30 have paved runways. 51 500 km
of roads criss-cross a country that is
12.3m square km in size, but as road
freight haulers know only 5 350 km
is tarred, and the tarring can often be
problematic. Rains and flooding take
their toll on roads, making muddy
quagmires of the untarred majority and
submerging the rest, particularly in the
interior plateau areas.
“We transport a lot of foodstuffs
into Angola,” says Moses Abbosey,
whose firm Royal Gold Shipping
Agency felt the country was an
attractive destination and started
service there two years ago. And
he’s not alone in following the allure
of an obviously buoyant economy,
shipping perishables and other foods
to not only oil installations but also
shops. Surprisingly for a country with
an intense November to April rainy
season, less than 3% of land is arable,
and agriculture accounts for only 9.2%
of GDP. Half of the country’s food has
to be imported.
No wonder the one bright spot for
transporters dealing with Angolan
customs is that pre-clearance of
perishable products is allowed. “For
other goods,” explains Paul Cunliffe of
4PL.COM Logistics Cape, “a four to
five day process at the border should
be normal. If a situation arises with
clearance documents, it can be four to
five weeks. But longer can happen.”
The language (Portuguese of course
is spoken) can be a challenge. “We
recently moved a load of synthetic
juice powder. We have a guy at
the border who translates all our
documents. Angolan customs saw
‘orange’ and ‘raspberry’ and wanted
certification for fruits. They wouldn’t
accept the argument that the product
was synthetic. The truck stood at the
border for two months until it was
resolved,” Cunliffe recalls.
What would help move road freight
along is a common clearing ground at
its main border post used by inbound
truck traffic from SA. One road freight
hauler reports: “What happens now
is the trucks go to a holding area 30
km from the border. There are no
stores, no facilities there. We have
an agent who goes to our trucks on a
daily basis, gives the drivers news and
gets updates, takes shopping lists and
checks visas.”
Acquiring visas can be a challenge
in itself, and complications arise if a
truck is stuck at the border. Visas are
single entry and expire in 30 days. If
a truck is held up for more than a
month it may also be the driver who
is stranded.
“These fees get passed onto the
customer who can’t understand why it
is so expensive to ship to Angola,” said
the road freight operator.
So, why bother? The attraction
of Angola is more than transport
opportunities offered by the oil and
gas industry. Angola’s population of
nearly 13 million is also emerging from
a time of want, and represents a potent
consumer market. Already much of
Angolans’ food needs must come from
abroad, and transporters report growing
volumes in consumer goods.
They also report an improving
road infrastructure, efforts to address
port congestion, and other signs that
government understands that postwar
reconstruction and widespread
prosperity to match the fortunes of
the oil sector cannot be achieved
without literally paving the way for the
transport industry.