The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) will host the 8th Pan African Ports Cooperation International Conference (PAPC) in Arusha between December 6 and 8.
The event is expected to attract at least 200 delegates from leading ports in the region, regional economic commissions and the private sector from around the world.
A statement issued by TPA last week indicated that participants will include port members from manufacturing companies, cooperating partners, and regional and sub-regional as well as international organizations involved in ports and maritime issues.
The theme of the forum is: "Improving Ports Performance to Fast-Track Africa’s Economic Development." The forum, according to the statement signed by the TPA Corporate Communications Manager, Mr Franklin Mziray, is expected to provide a platform for experts and officials handling ports and maritime matters to deliberate on challenges influencing maritime and transport sectors, regional and international trade as well as reflecting on development strategies for their ports.
It will also serve as a unique opportunity for stakeholders including marine and ports experts, policy makers, players in the shipping industry to formulate recommendations for the implementation of Maritime Legislations and Conventions.
During the two-day meeting, part of which will be a teleconference sessions, experts from reputable organizations will present papers.
Some of the papers will reflect on a number of issues such as "Challenges of globalization: Policy Initiatives for the Maritime Transport Sector in Africa and Role of the African Union (AU), Economic Challenges on regulation and policies to create an attractive and Enabling Environment for Public Private Partnership Investment in transport infrastructure.
Others will be: Port Reform in Africa by the World Bank, Excellence in Terminal Developmentand Operations, Infrastructure Financing on the continent, and the Innovations in E Maritime Services for Enhancing Port Services.
With respect to parallel sessions, the discussions will dwell on challenges in maritime safety port security and maritime environmental protection, the role of the US Coast Guard in Africa maritime safety and the role of South Asia and Africa Regional Port Stability Cooperative (SAARPSCO) in combating piracy at the region.
On the sideline of PAPC conference, the African Ports Environmental Network would be launched followed by an excursion trip to Ngorongoro National Park on Wednesday on the last day of the meeting.
The 36th PMAESA Annual Council and International Africa and Europe Group Regional Meeting will run on the sidelines of the PAPC conference.
The Pan-African Association of Ports Cooperation (PAPC) was formed by the three regional bodies, namely, PMAESA, PMWACA and UAPNA to establish a continental platform to enhance cooperation between African ports, facilitate development, exchange ideas and experiences as well as increase efficiency and productivity
Port of Luanda Moves Over Four Million Tones
At least 4.8 million tones of diverse goods is the amount of movements registered by Port of Luanda, during the first six months of this year, Wednesday said the chairperson of the company, Francisco Venâncio.
Speaking to the press at a press conference, the official said these are confirmed results from a provisory report, and at the moment is taking place the assessment of the activity of this last six months.
Therefore, he added that during the two last years the percentage of movements was of nine million tones.
Concerning the fare, he explained that there was an increase, since the updating, obliging the fixation of the tax minimum value in 30 dollars, from the sixth up to 30th day of the first month that commodity enters, considering that the first five days are not paid.
…As Maputo Port Capacity May Quadruple By 2025
The Chief Executive Officer of the Maputo Corridor Logistics initiative (MCLI), Brenda Horne, has announced that the amount of traffic handled by Maputo port could grow from the current 10 million tonnes per year to 48 million tonnes by 2025.
Speaking in Johannesburg to the Portuguese news agency Lusa, Horne also said that the new one-stop border post between South Africa and Mozambique at Ressano Garcia is about to begin functioning for buses and taxis, saving a great deal of time in the crossing between the two countries.
The one-stop border post for freight, which came into operation earlier this year, has provided significant savings in travel time for those South African operators who use Maputo port for their exports and imports.
"Trucks equipped with satellite tracking systems enable us to calculate that the trip between the border post and the port, the unloading and the return now take around five hours, which is fantastic, if we compare it with the ten hours needed previously", said Horne.
MCLI is a grouping of South African and Mozambican companies created to boost the use of Maputo port and the road and rail links between the port and South Africa.
Turkey’s Yildirim Buys Into CMA CGM
Turkey’s Yildirim Group is to invest US$ 500 million in French shipping group CMA CGM to give it a basic 20% share in the family business. CMA CGM however retains as majority shareholder with a full 80% of shares and voting rights. Yildirim, which will take three of the ten seats on the Board of Directors, is also a family driven company involved in chrome ore mining and trading, ferrochrome production and trading, coal trading, fertiliser production, shipping, shipbuilding and port management.
“This alliance with Yildirim Group will enable us to strengthen CMA CGM’s balance sheet,” said Jacques R. Saadé, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMA CGM. “The arrival of a new investor will provide our Group with additional resources to support and step up its growth and represents a major milestone in our history.”
For the first nine months of 2010 CMA CGM revenue totalled $ 10.5 billion, up 38% year-on-year while container volumes increased by nearly 18% to 6.8 million TEU. So far this year CMA CGM has taken delivery of 12 new ships, bringing the number of owned vessels to 92, while new ships have also been chartered in bringing the total fleet count to 400 ships.
Meanwhile, in a new agreement to restructure its huge debt, CMA CGM says it expects a new cash injection of $ 150 million before the end of the year, this time from the French government. Group chief executive Rodolphe Saadé said last week that CMA CGM had reached agreement with creditor banks on a restructuring of $ 5 billion of loans taken on to finance its ship order book.
Maersk To Invest US$ 4 Billion In 20 New Supercontainer Ships
AP Moller-Maersk is about to invest about US$ 4 billion in buying 20 new container ships, according to several shipping sources. Each vessel will cost in the region of $200m and will be capable of carrying up to 18,000-TEU, making them the largest container ships in service. Reports indicate the orders will go to South Korean shipyards. The current largest container ship carries around 14,000-15,000-TEU.
Work on Second Mombasa Port Terminal to Start in February
Work is expected to commence soon on the second container terminal at the Mombasa port is as the contractor handling the project is expected on the site by February next year to start the work.
Designs for the construction of the facility are ready, the Kenya Ports Authority managing director Mr Gichiri Ndua told a recent meeting in Nairobi.
The project is financed through a bilateral soft loan from the Japanese Government to the tune of Sh16 billion.
The 1.2 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUS) terminal on completion will be expected to make Mombasa a regional transit hub.
The new terminal will double the port’s handling capacity. Its first phase will be fully operational by 2013, say port officials.
Japan Port Consultants Ltd was awarded the six-year construction contract last year. The project will involve construction of quay and sea walls, utilities, buildings, access road and parking space.
Other civil works will include the extension of the railway line and an access road from the existing container terminal to the new terminal, installation of leading lights from the quay and marker buoys at the channel and basins.
The port of Mombasa has already stretched its installed capacity of 20 million tonnes per year due to growth of containerised cargo than anticipated.
Last year, over 19 million tonnes were handled at the port and the figure is expected to surpass the capacity this year. For the last eight years, the containerised cargo through the port has been growing at over 10 per cent per year.
Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors, a Netherlands firm was picked recently to carry out the planned dredging of the Mombasa port channel, which together with the new terminal, will create an additional capacity to make the port competitive.
KPA postponed the dredging last year until the planned construction of a second container terminal commenced.
The two are supposed to commence together because the material that will be scooped from the sea will be used to reclaim part of the land for the second terminal.
Mombasa port has already lost to Dar es Salaam port trans-shipment business in the last two years due to the container terminal constraints.
It has been a feeder one with most cargo traffic being trans-shipped through hub ports like Salalah in Oman, Jeddah, Durban and Singapore.
Once a large capacity is created, the port will target transshipment business from Seychelles, Mauritius, Tanga, Zanzibar and Maputo, the port operations manager Joseph Atonga said in a recent interview.
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