No roads – so barges are used in DRC

Project cargo may not move as smoothly in Africa as it does in the rest of the world, but as long as it moves the continent is growing. “The trick in Africa is not to compare it to the rest of the world but to find the innovative solutions that are suitable for this continent,” says Deanne DeVries, vice president Africa for Agility Project Logistics. And she believes the possibilities for project cargo on the continent are endless – from transformers across Kenya to oil infrastructure for Sudan or storage facilities for Nigeria. “It is really just about thinking differently,” says DeVries. “So there are no roads, but there are rivers. This was one of the solutions we gave a client who needed project cargo in Sudan recently. There was no road infrastructure that would see the cargo arrive at the destination on time, but there was the Nile.” Using barges, DeVries and her team successfully moved all of the cargo for the project on time. “In the DRC we have also started using barges to move cargo. In fact, the barges we use in that country are designed and built in the DRC itself. It is imperative that as project cargo experts we see opportunity rather than impossibilities when dealing with Africa.” DeVries says while the lack of infrastructure does lead to delays at times, it is about realising that Africa does have the ability to find its own custom-made solutions. “And Africans are more than capable of designing, building and using those solutions to ensure that the projects do not come to a standstill. It is all about thinking out of the box and finding innovative ways of dealing with the challenges,” she says. “It follows reason if the challenges around project cargo are unique that the solutions should be as well.” According to Sander Van Damme, business development manager Africa for Sarens South Africa, the lack of fancy equipment is also not stopping projects from going ahead. “I have seen an excavator used to offload project cargo at a site as they did not have cranes. It’s about getting the job done and not waiting for a solution.” INSERT ‘The lack of fancy equipment is not stopping projects from going ahead.’ CAPTION Deanne DeVries … ‘Africa has the ability to find its own custom-made solutions.’