Ports prepare for the next upturn

Investment in West
African ports is
continuing despite the
commodity downturn
which has affected volumes
of oil, gas and minerals
being exported from the
region.
Port and terminal
operators are preparing for
the next upturn in demand,
and developing logistics
hubs that will add over 12
million TEUs of capacity
to the region by 2020,
according to Michel Donner,
senior adviser at Drewry
Maritime Advisors.
Channels and berths
are also being deepened
to accommodate larger
vessels, he told a conference
hosted by Port Finance
International in Casablanca.
Major expansion projects
in West Africa include:
Dakar: DP World adding
1.6 million TEUs, deepening
the channel by 15 metres and
increasing the berth length by
1 200 metres
Tema: MPS (Bollore,
APMT, GPHA) increasing
capacity by a million TEUs by
deepening the channel to 17
metres and lengthening the
quay by 700m
Abidjan II: Bollore/APMT/
Bouygues increasing capacity
by 1.4m TEUs by deepening
the channel to 18 metres and
lengthening the quay by
1 100 m
Lome LCT: TIL-MSC/
China Merchants increasing
the capacity by 1.9 million
TEUs, deepening the
channels to 15.5m and
lengthening the quay by
2 400m
Lome TTL: Bollore
increasing capacity by
0.25m TEUs by deepening
the channel to 15m and
lengthening the quay by
450m
Lagos-Bagadry: APMT/
TIL-MSC/Macquarie
increasing capacity by
2m TEUs by deepening
the channel to 16m and
increasing the quay by
1 250m
Kribi: Bolloré/CMA CGM
increasing capacity by 0.8m
TEUs by deepening the
channel by 25 m and the quay
length by 700m
Pointe Noire: Bollore/
APMT/Socotrans increasing
capacity by 0.6m TEUs and
the quay length by 800m
The six largest ports in
the region handle about
half of the 7.5 million
TEUs moving through
the 18-country region,
according to figures from
maritime consultancy Drewry.
Investors will be breathing
a little easier after container
shipments from Asia to West
Africa in March this year
registered the first year-onyear
increase in 13 months
as volumes rose by 11%,
according to data supplied
by the Container Trades
Statistics.
In May there were nine
weekly services from Asia to
West Africa, many of which
hub through South Africa or
call on South African ports
en route.
They consisted of 21
units of 8 000 TEUs or
more, the biggest being two
12 500-TEU vessels
operated by MSC on its
Africa Express service.
An inf lux of larger ships
to the trade has seen the
average size ship deployed
rise by 13% in only five
months from 4 850 TEUs to
nearly 5 500, according to
Drewry’s Container Insight.
CAPTION
Tema... capacity to be increased by 1m TEUs.