Ports and corridors are only
as efficient as their systems
and infrastructure allow
them to be – and looking at
Africa there is much work to be
done.
According to Kriba Naiken,
managing director of Quattro
Freight, ports and corridors
do not work in isolation and
neither do the systems and
infrastructure.
“Costs and improvements
must happen in alignment with
each other,” he said. “We must
get to a place where there is
collaboration in addressing
the issues that are affecting
inefficiency and cost. We
must communicate more
across the supply chain and be
more persistent in demanding
solutions.”
According to Naiken, working
together in addressing the issues
would also go a long way to
addressing bottlenecks at ports
and border posts.
Captain Salvatore Sarno,
managing director
of Mediterranean Shipping
Company (MSC), says it is
essential to work in a planned
and systematic way to address
congestion.
“If one looks at a port, it is
important to remember that
infrastructure around it is
just as important. Durban for
example will benefit greatly
by the substantial investments
planned by Transnet, but the port
has a major problem outside it.
Getting into and out of the port
affects operations just as much.”
According to Sarno, it is about
looking at problems holistically
and finding solutions that way.
“Vessels are getting bigger
and bringing more cargo in at
any given time. The neglect of
infrastructure outside ports will
have to be addressed otherwise
one is just going back in terms
of allowing more volume into
the port,” he said. “If we are
bringing in more cargoes it
means we want to get more
cargoes out of the port and
therefore the access roads and
the corridors must develop along
with the ports.”
He said investments must be
made taking the big picture into
account.
“The port, the rail and road
network, the capacity at border
posts must all be taken into
consideration.”
According to Naiken, it
is just as important to take
maintenance of infrastructure
into consideration.
“Once we have the capacity
we must be in a position to take
care of it. Some 20 years ago
we stopped investing in rail in
South Africa because it became
uncompetitive and there was a
demand for road. Now we have
a major problem on our hands as
there is too much cargo on road
and rail can’t take more because
it does not have the capacity.”
Barbara Mommen, chief
executive officer of the Maputo
Corridor Logistics Initiative
(MCLI), believes the solution
lies in long-term planning.
“When it comes to projects we
are often only looking at a shortterm
solution. We deal with the
immediate need never looking at
the long term.”
She says getting the right
market information and planning
and strategising for the future is
what will bring ultimate change.
“We need to look at funding a
resource in an organisation such
as ours that can map the logistics
chain from beginning to end
and start to look at trends – and
see what happens in ten years’
time when the demand for coal,
for example, in Mozambique
suddenly goes down.”
She said many companies
entered Africa for specific
projects, implementing
short-term solutions to move
their cargo, but that was not
necessarily beneficial over the
long term.
“We must also start looking
at regional solutions rather
than just each country on its
own. We are too protectionist
at the moment and if we don’t
start thinking regionally we are
doomed.”
CAPTION 1
Trucks wait patiently on Bayhead Road ... what good is a fluid port if cargo is delayed
outside?
CAPTION 2
Salvatore Sarno … ‘Access roads and
the corridors must develop along with
the ports.’
