West Africa ports compete for regional dominance

Subject

West Africa ports development.

Significance

Economic growth and rising trade volumes with Asian countries are straining West Africa's commercial port capacities. Various port infrastructure projects are underway as states compete to become shipping gateways for the region. Ever larger container ships are also forcing states to offer deeper water berth ports. Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria are leading the race.

Impacts

• Low oil prices should not affect port expansion as the costs are borne by competing private sector operators.
• The question of whether the operator-driven port model delivers equivalent benefits to individual economies will grow as profits rise.
• European private sector port operators continue to dominate, but competition from Asian companies such as DP World is growing.