PORTS, TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SECTOR NEWS ROUND-UP, 13/2019 (1-12 JULY 2019)
In light of the rapid pace of infrastructure and transport developments across Africa, our Ports, Transport and Logistics (PTL) Sector Group is pleased to present Bowmans’ latest PTL news round-up. Our regular round-ups bring you a selection of pan-African PTL-related stories and keep you up to date regarding developments in the space across Africa.
We draw on a network of multi-disciplinary experts across Africa in fields as diverse as project finance, construction and environmental law, to keep you in the know about developments and thought leadership in the PTL space.
As the articles to which we refer readers are, unless stated otherwise, neither written nor edited by ourselves and appear in their original form, we mention that by publishing them Bowmans does not necessarily agree with opinions expressed in those articles.
This edition includes news headlines and links to articles from a variety of sources, covering stories from Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Niger and
South Africa.
Reminder: Comments on the new draft National Ports Amendment Bill
(South Africa)
A new draft National Ports Amendment Bill was published on 11 July 2019 by the Department of Transport. A copy may be found here. Comments on the draft must be submitted within 30 days of publication i.e. by 9 August 2019.
Reminder: Public hearings on the National Ports Authority Tariff Application for 2020/21 - 2022/23 (South Africa)
The Ports Regulator of South Africa has extended an invitation to ports users and interested parties to attend public hearings on the National Ports Authority tariff application for 2020/21 - 2022/23, between 2 and 7 August 2019. Written comments should be submitted by 16 September 2019. Further details, including venues and times for the public hearings, are provided on their website here
News continues below:
New Walvis Bay container terminal set for official launch (Namibia)
Source: FTW Online (12 July 2019)
August 2 will mark the official launch of the Port of Walvis Bay’s new container terminal. Read the full article here.
TNPA considers offshore port facility (South Africa)
Source: FTW Online (11 July 2019)
Transnet National Ports Authority has raised the idea of an offshore port facility to cater for the growing number of larger vessels calling at our ports that require deep draughts. Read the full article here.
Next Steps for the African Continental Free Trade Area (Niger)
Source: Africa Ports (11 July 2019)
The ninth edition of the flagship Assessing Regional Integration in Africa report (ARIA IX) was launched on Saturday, 6 July 2019 during the African Business Forum in Niamey, Niger. Titled ‘Next Steps for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)’, the report argues that AfCFTA’s success will be measured largely by its ability to actually change lives, reduce poverty and contribute to economic development in Africa. Read the full article here. A copy of the Report is available from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa website here.
Opposition raised over handing of Mombasa 2nd Container Terminal to
MSC-KNSL (Kenya)
Source: Africa Ports (10 July 2019)
Government plans to relinquish operating control of the newly-developed Second Container Terminal at the Port of Mombasa, built at a cost of KSh30 billion, to a joint venture involving Swiss-owned Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the resuscitated Kenya National Shipping Line (KNSL), although approved in the National Assembly, met with strong criticism in some quarters, particularly at the coast. Read the full article here.
Boost for Blue Economy as President Kenyatta commissions Bandari Maritime Academy (Kenya)
Source: Africa Ports (9 July 2019)
Kenya’s efforts to position the blue economy sector as a key driver of the country’s transformation received a major boost with the commissioning of the Bandari Maritime Academy in Mombasa County. President Kenyatta led hundreds of maritime sector stakeholders at the ceremony during which he announced a raft of reforms the government is undertaking to secure both local and international seafaring jobs for Kenyan youth. Read the full article here.
Customs holdups will torpedo Africa’s free trade ambitions
Source: FTW Online (9 July 2019)
Africa’s aspirations to establish a common market that will dwarf other free trade areas could be dead in the water if it doesn’t sort out on-the-ground issues first, customs and excise professional Duane Newman has said. Read the full article here.
Mocamedes Railway anticipates increase in traffic with pig-iron exports (Angola)
Source: Africa Ports (8 July 2019)
Traffic on the Moçâmedes Railway is expected to increase as result of the commencement of pig-iron production at two municipalities. The financial manager of the railway management company, António Conceição said the turnover for the railway would increase from 700 million to over 1 billion kwanzas per year. Read the full article here.
African trade bloc testing phase gets under way
Source: FTW Online (8 July 2019)
Africa has entered a year-long phase of customs harmonisation exercises after Nigeria and Benin, former outliers of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA), signed up for the initiative that will create the world’s biggest block for free trade. Read the full article here.
Rules of origin most important challenge for AfCFTA – Unctad
Source: FTW Online (4 July 2019)
The secretary-general for the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, has identified “rules of origin” as the biggest challenge facing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Read the full article here. A copy of UNTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2019 is available from their website here.
No Tema Port job losses because of Meridian Ports concession, says Ghana president (Ghana)
Source: Africa Ports (3 July 2019)
The concession awarded to Meridian Ports (MPS) to operate the new Tema Port Terminal 3 will not result in any job losses among Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority personnel, says Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Read the full article here.
Tema port ready for first vessel (Ghana)
Source: FTW Online (3 July 2019)
Tema Port was preparing for the arrival of its first vessel following the completion of its expansion project, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) announced yesterday. The $1.5-billion project has expanded the port’s capacity to two million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit). Read the full article here.
First ‘paperless’ container shipped to the Netherlands (International)
Source: FTW Online (2 July 2019)
The first paperless door-to-door tracked container had been shipped from Korea to the Samsung SDS warehouse in the Netherlands via the Port of Rotterdam last week using the blockchain platform DELIVER, Dutch bank ABN AMRO announced yesterday. Read the full article here.
APM MedPort Tangier terminal opens (Morocco)
Source: Port Strategy (1 July 2019)
APM Terminals’ USD800m MedPort Tangier transshipment terminal in Morocco has opened with an annual capacity of 5m teus and will support Tanger Med Port to increase its annual throughput capacity to 9m teus. Read the full article here.