Players in the transport sector are meeting in the city to discuss ways of improving infrastructure as the trade volume is increasing in Africa. The two-day second Africa Ports and Rail Summit which started yesterday attracted industry leaders, port owners, investors, governments and service solution providers from across the region who are charting ways that can assist in international cooperation for the development of ports in Africa and share global experience.
While majority stressed the need for railways to facilitate movement of goods to and from the ports, others said port operators should also focus on building dry ports in the landlocked countries to decongest the ports. The stakeholders also called for more investment in both ports and railways as population and trade volumes increased every year.
“Africa’s population is expected to grow from the current 1.1 billion to 1.6 billion in the next one year and that means the trade volume will also increase. Are our ports ready for this growth?” challenged Ms Nozipho Mdawe, secretary general of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA).
Mr Paul Wallace, the chief executive officer of Tanzania International Container Terminal Services Ltd (TICTS) which handles cargo at the port of Dar es Salaam, explained how the containers have been increasing at the port and called for more investment to tap the potentials while delivering at the reasonable time
Source: Hellenic Shipping News

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