SA ports to co-operate with neighbours

"SA is co-operating with the port authorities of Maputo and Namibia and had signed agreements with them to share non-sensitive information on capacity, availability and requirements‚" Morwe said. "If ports in the region are able to get their act together‚ it could make financial sense for ships which traditionally using the Suez Canal to sail around Africa instead," he added.

However, while there is a need for regional co-operation‚ Morwe stressed that SA needs to cater for its own port capacity requirements before addressing regional needs. The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) plans to spend about R60bn on port infrastructure over the next seven years and this figure excludes the sums the private sector will invest in new terminals and ship repair facilities.

The conference heard that ports authorities and corridor groups in other regions on the continent are also engaging in initiatives to overcome regulatory bottlenecks‚ increase capacity and dramatically improve port performance and efficiency so that they can cater for the rapid increase in trade.

Traffic through Kenya's port of Mombasa has increased by 7.4% a year for the past 12 years while Mozambique's port of Maputo is forecasting an increase in cargo to 40m tons by 2020.

The conference organisers said that slow customs clearance procedures‚ transit delays and high transport costs are hindering Africa's ability to compete in global export markets. "Growth rates of over 5% in the past two years have made Africa one of the fastest growing regions in the world but more than 90% of international trade between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world is conducted via maritime transport," the organisers claimed

They went on to say the expected growth in trade volumes coupled with a lack of adequate transport infrastructure means that many African ports are now faced with an imperative need to upgrade and expand their infrastructure.

A World Bank study determined that cargo had to wait for up to 20 days to be offloaded in most sub-Saharan ports compared with the average of just four days in most large Asian or European ports.