African sun spot

West African ports are raising pulses in commissioning terms at the moment,whether that be through real activity or issues.

In Nigeria, after taking over the Apapa container terminal concession just a few months ago, APM Terminals is already producing clearly measurable improvements.

A.B. Sarumi, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said in May that privatisation of the countries ports is expected to provide initial bench marks for other sectors; encourage capacity development; enable the restructuring of the government maritime agencies; and provide a hub for West Africa.

Historically, Abidjan has always been the major hub port for the region as a deviation is required to steam to Lagos within the Bight of Benin, high cargo volumes normally make Lagos a direct port call and the Nigerian Customs procedures make transhipment almost an impossibility and berthing delays of 30 days plus have caused lines to suffer either a drop in sailings of 33% or increased costs of 25%.

However with the rate of progress APM Terminals has made since commencing its concession this might all be about to change. Since APM Terminals commenced at Apapa,berthing delays have reduced from 30 days to 9 days in just 10 weeks. The number of moves per day has increased from an average of 600 in June to between 750 – 850 in July and August.Deliveries (gate moves) have improved and are up from 250 to more than 450 per day.

Part of this can be attributed to the investments already made in equipment. APM has taken delivery of 10 reachstackers from Kalmar and Linde. Four empty handlers were due to arrive in August, 26 trucks and trailers by mid-October and two ship-toshore cranes by November.

A few customers who have returned to Apapa have expressed extreme satisfaction with the levels of efficiency achieved so far while, for its part, APM Terminals says it still has much more to do.

Further down the coast in Angola, it is rumoured that APM Terminals’long-running legal battle over the legality of the concessioning process in Luanda may be about to draw to a close. Local observers believe APMT will win the court case and start operating the terminal imminently. Currently, the government is operating it.

After long running civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia progress is also being made here. Expressions of interest (EOI) for the container yard in Monrovia, Liberia (a five-year concession with an option for another five years) went in on May 24 and feedback is expected from the Government from the middle of September.

At Freetown, Sierra Leone, EOI for the container terminal are expected to be issued during the first half of 2007, after elections planned for early next year. Similarly for Dakar in Senegal, which is an important hub in North West Africa, the government is expected to privatise the container terminal early next year.