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.