Transnet denies CPPI findings, adds tugs
NewsTransnet met with World Bank representatives to discuss the 2023 Container Port Performance Index, which highlighted the poor rankings for South African ports.
Bissau on the brink
The World Bank (IBRD) has warned that the West African port of Bissau is on the verge of becoming unusable because of silting. Rivers carry vast quantities of sediment into the wide Bissau Estuary
The IBRD’s liaison officer Carmen Pereira said: “It’s not going to take much time before it becomes unnavigable. There’s hasn’t been one dredging of any single river [in Guinea-Bissau] since the early 1970s.
“The port is the principal gateway for all exports and imports and its smooth functioning is key to the efficient transport of the vast majority of traded goods exiting and entering the country. At the present time, the port is operating well in excess of its designed capacity.”
The only port and capital of Guinea-Bissau, Bissau is operated by state-owned Administração dos Porto da Guinea-Bissau (APGB) and is central to the impoverished state’s economy.
Given the lack of cross-border road and rail links in the region, an estimated 90% of all goods transported to and from the country pass through the port. It was originally designed to handle just 5000 containers a year but current turnover stands at 20,000 TEU.
Government officials have discussed offering a private sector concession to operate the port but the financial terms of the deal that saw control of the port pass from private company Tertir to APGB in 1999 have still not been settled.
In addition, the IBRD has revealed that 800 people are employed at the port, a huge number considering its relatively small turnover, so some redundancies would be likely.
Plans have been unveiled for a new dry bulk port at Buba that would handle bauxite exports. However, container traffic is expected to continue being handled at Bissau, alongside the country’s main export crop, cashew nuts.
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