This month the G8 group convened again this time in Japan with the world’s media understandably being critical of what the Gleneagles meeting achieved in real terms, pointing to developments such as the controversial Kenyan elections as a reminder that it only takes one flawed leader to derail decades of development.

Undoubtedly, there is more than a grain of truth in the world media’s view that the hope epitomised in the Live 8 Concerts organised by Bob Geldof has not been fulfilled and that much remains to be done in Africa - not least in terms of raising the performance of and plugging the gaps in the continent’s transport infrastructure and systems.

As the old adage goes, however, “Rome was not built in a day” and so far as the ports sector in sub-Saharan Africa is concerned it can be seen that under the auspices of the World Bank a significant advance has been made. The status of the industry is better understood at every critical level, and as a result of this an information platform has been established from which more informed decisions can be made as to how to facilitate the advance of the sector.

In practical terms, the route to achieving this was the commissioning by the World Bank of a port sector Africa Infrastructure Diagnostic Study undertaken by UK-based Ocean Shipping Consultants (OSC). This recently completed study is one of a series of studies undertaken for each key transport sector including roads, rail and airports as well as other key utility sectors such as power generation. Together, this series of studies provides an unrivalled insight into the condition of Africa’s infrastructure today and delivers major pointers as to what action in each sector is required to raise performance and achieve positive economic impact.
 

Sub-Saharan Focus

The focus of the ports sector study covers 17 sub-Saharan African countries and over 70 ports with in excess of 30 receiving a comprehensive review and the remainder a partial review. In short, the objective was, “to refine, collect and produce a set of predefined indicators augmented by analysis".

Taking the comprehensive review as an example, the indicators are: port authority organisation, port workforce, port activity and performance (includes traffic data), facilities and infrastructure, equipment profile, capacity profile, cost, performance, management model and competition, and private sector participation. Following on from study of these elements on a port-by-port basis individual country reviews and a cross-country analysis were undertaken.

As might be imagined there are several interesting outputs from the study and particularly when looking at the study ports across the board. Key examples of these can be found in conjunction with traffic development, the institutional and regulatory framework, infrastructure development, cargo handling performance and the cost of operations – as discussed in table 1.

 

Table 1: Container traffic development 1995-2005 by teu, Africa Infrastructure Diagnostic Study

 

Region                                   1995                                       2005                                       % Change

East Africa/IO                       505,100                                   1,394,956                                +176

Southern Africa                    1,356,000                                3,091,846                                +128

West Africa                          673,000                                   3,126,901                                +364

Grand Total                           2,534,500                                7,613,703                                +200

 

Source: Ocean Shipping Consultants

 
 

It is evident that over the 10-year period container traffic in each geographical sector increased significantly with the strongest growth being recorded in West Africa (364%) and traffic overall increasing by some 200%.

Similarly, the study identifies strong ongoing growth in the general cargo sector as illustrated in Table 2.

 

Table 2: General cargo traffic development 1995-2005 by ‘000 tonnes, Africa Diagnostic Study

 

Region                                   1995                                       2005                                       % Change

East Africa/IO                       13.84                                       38.42                                       +177

Southern Africa                    2.73                                         14.52                                       +431

West Africa                          19.57                                       51.68                                       +164

Grand Total                           36.14                                       104.62                                     +189

 

Source: Ocean Shipping Consultants

 

Each region shows strong growth and particularly southern Africa which encompasses the countries of South Africa and Namibia. The continuing strong growth of general cargo volumes may be surprising to some particularly when weighed against strong container traffic growth. However, one of the underlying conclusions of the study was that while container volumes have increased, the development of the container system remains constrained by both available capacity in the region’s ports and the lack of proper infrastructure to support effective container penetration inland. Hence, general cargo traffic growth continues apace.

 

Institutional Framework

Interestingly, the study reveals that only two countries have fully adopted the favoured landlord port model, a principal characteristic of which is the withdrawal of the public sector from front line cargo handling operations. Indeed, out of the 17 countries examined nearly half (8) still retain the old style service port model where the public sector is the manager and operator. Having said this, however, nine out of the 17 study countries have concessioned container facilities to the private sector.

Overall, the message is clear: further reform at an institutional level offers considerable potential to achieve the effective development of sub-Saharan African ports. And furthermore there are some positive signs that this is at least partially in the pipeline with seven countries undertaking new national port masterplans, a significant proportion of which include a focus on institutional reform.

 

Infrastructure Development

Hardly surprisingly, the study identifies port capacity shortfalls in all three major maritime sector trading regions: east, west and southern Africa. The highlights of this include three locations on the West African coast that are currently working beyond their theoretical capacity limits and in each sector a distinct shortage of container transhipment capacity.

In terms of major new port developments that can play a part in alleviating capacity problems relatively few major schemes were identified. There were more projects at the proposed or planning stage but a number of these had been at this stage of development for longer than is considered normal.

Plainly, more needs to be done to introduce new capacity at the right time and to capitalise on new opportunities. Indeed, the whole issue of capacity planning and understanding available capacity weighed against shipping system developments emerged as one that requires much more attention.

The point also surfaces clearly that sub-Saharan Africa would benefit immensely from coordinated infrastructure development – ie port infrastructure in conjunction with road and rail system development, thereby unlocking, for example, transport corridor development which extends across green borders into landlocked countries.

Meanwhile, Tables 3 and 4 provide an insight into the study’s findings with regard to container and general cargo handling performance. It should be borne in mind here, however, that this range of performance encompasses many different handling systems extending from ships’ gear to specialised quay cranes.

As is self-evident from the tables, the performance overall is not yet of a standard comparable with that achieved in other regions of the world including other developing regions.

 

Table 3: Container handling performance range over the quay

 

East Africa                            9 to 20+ moves per hour

Southern Africa                    6 to 18 moves per hour

West Africa                          6 to 20+ moves per hour

 

Source: Ocean Shipping Consultants

 

Table 4: General cargo handling performance range over the quay

 

East Africa                            8 to 25 tonnes/hr

Southern Africa                    10 to 25 tonnes/hr

West Africa                          7 to 15 tonnes/hr

 

Source: Ocean Shipping Consultants

 

Port Costs

Port operations are identified in the study as high cost due to technical, institutional, structural and a range of other factors. Technical factors encompass inadequate capacity, poor facilities, poor management and maintenance. Institutional factors involve a lack of regulation, monopolies and the use of outdated pricing structures and systems.

Table 5 provides a practical insight into cargo handling costs which can be seen to be high when measured against those available in other areas of the world such as northern Europe and Asia.

 

Table 5: Container and general handling price ranges

 

Region                   Container Handling (ship to gate)                    General Cargo (over the quay)

 

East Africa            $135 - $275                                                             $6 - $15

Southern Africa    $110 - $243                                                             $11 -$15

West Africa          $100 - $320                                                             $8 - $15

 

Source: Ocean Shipping Consultants

This new World Bank Study considerably enhances the knowledge base regarding sub-Saharan African ports. It does so in terms of individual ports but equally it identifies the key issues that must be addressed to achieve an effective maturing of the sub-Saharan African ports system. Last but not least, it shows the potential of the system and that there are many aspects that promise to be attractive to port sector investors.