Africa is the second largest continent in the world after Asia. But, seen from the angle of the economy, Africa is still small. For instance, in 2017, while the United States got the biggest slice of the global GDP, about 24.32% estimated to be $74.1 trillion in total, followed by China’s 14.84%, the powerhouses in Africa including South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt can only muster 1.52% altogether.
Thus, apart from the natural resources that serve as income generation for the 54 African countries which if utilized well can bridge this wide gap, an important source of revenue generation for some of these countries include international trade made possible through the ports.
Apart from the fact that there are well over 100 port facilities in Africa; over 38 outside the 54 countries in Africa are either coastal or insular in nature. However, while there are several promising ports in Africa, the following rank top as the busiest in the continent.
Port of Durban – South Africa
The port in Durban, South Africa, is unarguably the best-ranked port in Africa. This is not only in terms of facilities but also the capacity of the port which is unrivalled on the continent. Commonly called Durban Harbour, the port ranked the largest and busiest shipping terminal in Africa. In 2017, the port catered for 9,821 vessels and processed 22,785,769 metric tons of cargo.
In revenue generation for the country, the port plays an important role in South Africa’s economy. It conducts trade worth over $45 billion and according to the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, it handled about 44.8 million tonnes of cargo in 2013 & 2014. It is also home to 4,500 vessels yearly and about 83,000 containers per month.
Port of Djibouti – Djibouti
Djibouti City in Djibouti, no doubt, is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa owing to its strategic location and international investment in the city, especially in recent times. The port’s strategic location on the Gulf of Aden makes it an important military outpost for the world’s Great Powers including the United States, China and France.
Since the Doraleh Container Terminal was built in 2009, the Djibouti City port has become one of the busiest in Africa. The terminal is already handling almost 1.6 million TEUs and has a water depth of 18m. The new International Container Terminal in Doraleh currently being muted could mobilize up to 4 million units of 20 feet. The port collaborates with about 10 international companies and its strategic link to Ethiopia by rail makes it very unique. Djibouti City port is busy all year round and in Africa, it is a port of immense international trading. The port links 19 countries and close to 400 million people. It serves the COMESA market.
Lagos Port – Nigeria
The Lagos Port is an important port in Africa, especially the West African part of the continent. Its main operations take place in two different locations – Apapa and Tin Can ports. The ports themselves are linked to the Gulf of Guinea and intersect with markets in neighbouring countries such as Benin Republic, Niger, Cameroun, etc. In West Africa, it is the largest seaport where lots of exports are carried out. Thus, it is a very busy port especially since a lot of importation is carried out from the West African countries and
A report published by Container Management Magazine stipulated that the Lagos port has a capacity of 1.5 million TEU which put them in the top 500 container ports in the world. According to the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics, a total of 43,019,889 metric tons of cargo were handled in the six ports in the country but Lagos port alone handled 17,523,313 and 14,623,239 metric tons of cargo respectively. However, the infrastructure at the port is becoming deplorable and a lot needs
Mombasa Port – Kenya
The Mombasa Port is one of the biggest ports in Africa, especially in East and Central Africa. It is also known as the City of Merchants. Its strategic location between South Africa and the Gulf of Aden as well as its services to neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo makes it one of the busiest in the region. The Mombasa Port got several awards including the best cruise port in Africa by the World Travel Awards.
The Mombasa Port is working its way to handle two million containers by 2022 and already carrying out several projects to boost efficiency at the ports. In 2016, the port handled 6,487,330, an increase of 8.5 percent. But like the Lagos port, it requires facelift and solution to endless traffic which is quite challenging. The new terminal being constructed is expected to handle 1.5 million TEUs per annum. Currently, about 1.1 containers are being handled by the port.
Tema Port – Ghana
The Tema Port is one of the two biggest deep seaports in Ghana, West Africa. Tema is a city strategically located on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. Officially opened in 1962, the port handles almost 80% of Ghana’s import and export cargo and has a container yard capable of holding over 8,000 TEUs at any given time and six sheds with a total storage capacity of 50,000 tonnes of cargo.
The port manages over 70 percent of maritime freight activities in Ghana and according to African Business Magazine; cargo traffic grew by 56 percent to 822,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU’s) between 2009 and 2012 making it one of the busiest in Africa. But this achievement came without a parallel growth in vessel facilities during the period and this needs to be sorted to expand activities in the port.
Abidjan Port – Ivory Coast
The Abidjan Port, jointly run by the French Bollore Africa Logistics and APM Terminals is situated on a lagoon and boasts as one of the biggest ports in the West African sub-region with a container storage capacity of 20,000 TEUs and annual volume of 610,000 TEUs. It started operations in 1951 and gradually emerged as the economic hub of the Ivory Coast contributing up to 80% of its customs revenues. It serves Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger making it one of the busiest ports in Africa.
Data Source: Faca2faceafrica
