PwC report identified Durban (South Africa), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) and Mombasa as the most likely to emerge as the major hubs in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa, respectively
A report on African ports released last week by global research firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that Dar es Salaam and Djibouti may overtake Mombasa port as the regional hub.
The report identified Durban (South Africa), Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire) and Mombasa as the most likely to emerge as the major hubs in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa, respectively based on the degree of port centrality, the amount of trade passing through a port, and the size of the hinterland.
It also established that the closest rivals for these ports, due to their better operational performance, are Lagos-Apapa (Nigeria) and Tema (Ghana) as alternatives to Abidjan, and Djibouti and to a lesser extent Dar es Salaam to Mombasa.
“Djibouti poses much less of a threat to Mombasa due to the latter’s larger hinterland and operational efficiencies. If it was not for the close proximity of Dar es Salaam to Mombasa, it would have been a major contender to be an East African hub. Given their close proximity, it is unlikely that both Dar es Salaam and Mombasa will both emerge as hubs,” reported PwC.
“Also due to Mombasa’s better hinterland connections and larger throughput, it is more likely to fulfil the role of a hub, with Dar es Salaam being a significant regional port.” Both Tanzania and Djibouti have recently embarked on major developments on their ports in a bid to improve their operational performances and position themselves as continental hubs.
In July 2017, Tanzania announced that it had received a $12 million grant from the World Bank and $345 million credit for its Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project in a bid to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the port for the benefit of public and private stakeholders.
Its capacity is projected to increase to 25 million tonnes over the next seven years. This development will allow the port to half its waiting time at the berth while increasing operational productivity.
The project, which is expected to close in June 2024, is set to facilitate the deepening and strengthening of existing berths, the construction of a new multipurpose berth, deepening and widening of the entrance channel, improving the rail linkages and platform in the port.
This will, in turn, decrease trade and intermediary costs for businesses, making it the port of choice for imports thereby strengthening the competitiveness of the country. Djibouti on the other hand, last year opened three new ports — the Doraleh Multipurpose Port, Port of Ghoubet and Tadjourah.
The Doraleh Port is strategically located, connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. It can handle two and six million tonnes of cargo a year on its bulk terminal and breakbulk terminal respectively.
Port of Ghoubet serves as the main gateway for exports from Ethiopia handling ships of up 100,000 deadweight tonnes, with the capacity to export over five million tonnes of salt a year. Tadjourah can handle a capacity of four million tonnes.
Against this backdrop, it is evident that the Mombasa port, which acts as a gateway to other neighbouring countries such as South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo D.R., Malawi, Uganda and Zambia, faces competition as the regional hub. However industry experts say that despite the developments in alternative ports, Mombasa still offers major advantages and will remain the regional hub for years.
The experts say the developments implemented by the Mombasa port since 2015 ensure that it offers better services than its competitors.
“Since 2015, the Mombasa port has seen a new container terminal opened, an SGR terminal that is operating now, modern equipment that has been introduced for bulk handling and mobile cranes,” said Abhishek Sharma, a logistics analyst at TradeMark East Africa, a not-for-profit limited company that supports the growth of trade, both regional and international, in East Africa.
There is also a new custom system that is being put in place called ICMS, a regional electronic tracking cargo system that is already operational in Rwanda and Uganda and will be set up in in Kenya. This will enable the tracking of trucks from Mombasa to Kigali which will reduce the cost of transit bond.
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