PORTS, TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS SECTOR NEWS ROUND-UP, 15/2020 (17 – 28 AUGUST 2020)

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.

The articles to which we refer readers are, unless stated otherwise, neither written nor edited by ourselves and appear in their original form. Bowmans does not necessarily agree with opinions expressed in those articles.

For Coronavirus (Covid-19) related updates from South Africa…

Please see Bowmans’ dedicated ports and shipping web page for details of Covid-19 related regulatory changes, directions and updates in South Africa since 16 March. We also have a page dedicated to aviation regulatory changes, directions and updates.

Africa Ports provides statistics and commentary on the effect of Covid-19 on cargo volumes and ships calling at South African ports for the months of March, April, May and June, including a comparison with the figures for the same months in 2019.

Other news continues below...

Bowmans News – Berth deepening project at Durban (South Africa)
Bowmans recently received a copy of a presentation by Transnet about the status of the berth deepening project at the Durban Container Terminal (DCT). The project will go ahead with the new tender reported to be awarded in October 2020. The previous tender was originally awarded in 2019, but later cancelled and has had to be re-issued. The project is now expected to complete by August 2026 and will add additional container capacity at the terminal. Plans are being prepared to divert containers to the Port of Ngqura, should this be necessary during the works, though it seems unlikely that this will be necessary during phase 1 and 2 at least.

Walvis Bay corridor best in region – AUC (DRC, Namibia and Zambia)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (28 August 2020)
The Corridor from Walvis Bay in Namibia through Zambia and into the DRC is the best-developed, safest, least congested and quickest route in the region for exports and imports into Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), says Traolach Moylan, marketing and business development manager of Africa Union Cargo (AUC). Read the full article here.

Corona malaise doubles road freight delays from Mombasa (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (28 August 2020)
Expensive delays are going hand-in-hand with Covid-19 disruption on already time-consuming East Africa corridors from the Port of Mombasa into land-locked countries, costing transporters around USD 200 on average. Read the full article here.

Total signs MoU with Mozambique over security for oil and gas project (Mozambique)
Source: Africa Ports (28 August 2020)
French oil giant Total and the Mozambique government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) over the provision of security at the Afungi Peninsular gas production project under construction in northern Mozambique. Read the full article here.

Transnet CEO expects subdued commodity prices to weigh on recovery (South Africa)
Source: Creamer Media’s Engineering news (28 August 2020)
Transnet CEO Portia Derby warned this month that the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and the rest of Africa was likely to be negatively affected by still-subdued commodity prices and the serious deterioration in public finances across the continent, which had resulted in surging debt and currency volatility. Read the full article here.

Contract signed for Phase Two of new Ivory Coast Container Terminal (Ivory Coast)
Source: Africa Ports (27 August 2020)
Contracts were signed earlier this month with the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), for the construction of Abidjan’s second container terminal, known as Côte d’Ivoire Terminal (CIT). CIT is scheduled to be operational at the end of 2021. Read the full article here. Also reported by Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW here.

Ethiopia ships first reefer containers to Europe via Djibouti (Ethiopia and Djibouti)
Source: Africa Ports (7 August 2020)
This may seem surprising but the first refrigerated container has travelled from Ethiopia to the port at Djibouti and onwards by ship to Europe. Read the full article here.

Major step forward for Tambo Springs development (South Africa)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (27 August 2020)
Construction of the bulk of the infrastructure has commenced at the Tambo Springs Logistics Gateway. Read the full article here. Also reported by Creamer Media’s Engineering News here.

Easing of lockdown fails to lift airfreight yields (International)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (26 August 2020)
Yields in the air cargo sector have not returned to levels pre-dating the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the relaxation of lockdown regulations across the globe. Read the full article here.

Angola implements restrictive import measures (Angola)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (26 August 2020)
The Angolan government announced on Monday that it would no longer allocate foreign exchange currency for the import of a range of products, including vegetables, legumes and industrial processing, as the country’s local production already satisfies the demand. Read the full article here.

Covid-19’s cross-border impact under Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat spotlight (Botswana, Namibia and South Africa)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (26 August 2020)
The Trans-Kalahari Corridor Secretariat (TKCS) has announced that it will hold a “Virtual Stakeholder Engagement” this coming Friday in a bid to address the “devastating consequences on the national and regional economies of the Covid-19 pandemic”. Read the full article here.

Millers of Cameroon up in arms over weighing at the port (Cameroon)
Source: Africa Ports (25 August 2020)
Beware the wrath of the Millers! In Cameroon, in the Port of Douala to be more precise, the Port Authority of Douala (PAD) recently contracted a service provider to handle the various weighing centres at the port, which is Cameroon’s main harbour. Read the full article here.

Abidjan: Maersk opens new West African multipurpose warehouse (Ivory Coast)
Source: Africa Ports (25 August 2020)
Maersk has launched its warehouse and distribution facility in Abidjan to address the needs of customers and promote significant trade growth within this market.
 Read the full article here.

Covid underscores border harmonisation imperative like never before
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (25 August 2020)
Unlike anything before it, the Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of harmonising legislation governing the transport of goods across borders. Read the full article here.

Covid-19’s positive impact on Transnet (South Africa)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (25 August 2020)
Not allowing a good crisis to go to waste, Transnet has put in place several interventions that have impacted positively on the state-owned transport and logistics company. Read the full article here.

Transnet to localize the manufacture and supply of rail to reindustrialise the economy (South Africa)
Source: Transnet (24 August 2020)
As part of its strategy to localise rail manufacturing, Transnet SOC Ltd. has issued a Request for Information (RFI) relating to the local manufacture and supply of rails on 10 July 2020. Read the full press report here.

WHARF TALK: News from Durban and Cape Town (South Africa)
Source: Africa Ports (24 August 2020)
Read the full article here.

Demonstrations force shutdown of DRC-Zambia border (DRC and Zambia)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (24 August 2020)
The notoriously problematic border crossing of Kasumbalesa between Zambia’s Copperbelt Province and the province of Haut-Katanga in the south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo has shut down again. Read the full article here.

South Africa’s lockdown easing reopens door for Zambia’s copper exporters (South Africa and Zambia)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (24 August 2020)
Zambia Chamber of Mines CEO Sokwani Chilembo has welcomed the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in South Africa, remarking that it will hopefully reinvigorate copper exports to China. Read the full article here.

Air cargo data confirm staggering rate increases (International)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (24 August 2020)
The latest findings of World Air Cargo Data (World ACD) confirm the extreme volatility in the air cargo market, with its latest set of market data supporting the notion that "we have seen weekly changes hitherto unknown". Read the full article here.

More congestion headaches at Durban Bayhead (South Africa)
Source: Africa Ports (20 August 2020)
Traffic in the Bayhead, Island View and Maydon Wharf precincts of the Port of Durban on Wednesday, 19 August, was again free flowing after severe truck congestion on Monday and Tuesday. Read the full article here. Also reported in Creamer Media’s Engineering News here and here.

Insurgents in command at Mocimboa da Praia: SADC offers belated condemnation (Mozambique)
Source: Africa Ports (19 August 2020)
At the 40th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of SADC, the organisation issued its long-awaited condemnation of terrorism and violent attacks that are taking place in northern Mozambique. SADC also pledged support for the southern African country, though not specifying what this support will consist of. Read the full article here.

Large expansion for Port of Dar es Salaam car terminals (Tanzania)
Source: Africa Ports (19 August 2020)
In a drive to increase the number of auto vehicle imports handled at the port of Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian Ports Authority together with the respective port stakeholders is targeting an ambitious port capacity of 520,000 vehicles annually.
 Read the full article here.

Nigerian ports move towards 24/7 operation (Nigeria)
Source: Africa Ports (18 August 2020)
The heads of the various maritime agencies in Nigeria have agreed to work on introducing a 24-hour operation at the West African country’s ports. Read the full article here.

Specialists comment on Botswana’s road transport initiative (Botswana)
Source: Southern Africa’s Freight News by FTW (17 August 2020)
A slew of specialists have weighed in on the conversation about Botswana’s intention to reserve the lion’s share of domestic courier services for local operators, all in a bid to bolster opportunities for its own logistics sector. Read the full article here.

WHARF TALK: News from Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura (South Africa)
Source: Africa Ports (17 August 2020)
Read the full article here.