Dubai ports take up slack thanks to Africa's failure

Ports in southern Africa will need to up their game significantly if they want to attract the world’s players. According to Paul Runge, managing director of Africa Project Access, ports in the region are still not capitalising on opportunities. “If one looks at the gas finds in Mozambique alone then first and foremost there has to be a port that can service Pemba and Palma efficiently for this to even begin to be a viable project, yet there is very little talk about port development as yet.” He said what discussions were under way were pointing towards a port in Dubai being the main supply point for this project. “Our ports are operating in the global market and competition is everywhere. Dubai is therefore in direct competition with southern African ports for this business.” Already the United Nations transits everything through Dubai for its relief operations on the continent, indicating that ports elsewhere in the world are not sitting back waiting for business to come their way. “We have to take up the opportunities being presented or we will lose them to the competition,” said Runge. South African ports in particular have been plagued by ever-increasing costs while other ports in the region have been lacking in infrastructure. Runge said the investments going into the Port of Walvis Bay were good news for the region as a whole.