AFRICA ALL BUSINESS

THE BUSIEST AND LARGEST PORTS IN AFRICA

THE BUSIEST AND LARGEST PORTS IN AFRICA
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Maina wa Njuguna

Africa as the second largest continent after Asia is endowed with wealth and diverse resources that the world 🌎 cannot seem to do without.

Africa’s coastline is 26,000 kilometre-long (16,156 mile-long).

The African continent at about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth’s land area and 6% of its total surface area. With 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world’s human population. (Wikipedia)

Ports are entry and exit places between water masses and landmass where cargo is transferred between ships and trucks, trains, pipelines, storage facilities, or refineries.
The five largest ports in Africa in terms of size and capacity are:

(1) TANGER-MED, Morocco 🇲🇦

Tanger-Med is the largest and busiest port in Africa. Its capacity of 9 million containers makes it one of the largest industrial ports in the world.

Arial view of Africa’s busiest Tanger-Med Port, Morocco 🇲🇦 /Courtesy/
Its TEU in 2022 totaled 7,596,845 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) containers.

According to Tanger Med Port Authority (TMPA), it handled, last year 2022, a record total tonnage of 107,822,662.

(2) DURBAN, South Africa 🇿🇦

Durban is Africa’s second busiest general cargo port and home to one of the largest and busiest container terminals in the Southern Hemisphere.

Durban, South Africa 🇿🇦 /Courtesy/

The port of Durban handles Africa up to 5.6 million TEUs and generates 60% of South Africa’s revenue. A TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) is a measure of volume in units of twenty-foot long containers and this units are used to determine a port capacity or size.

Transnet port in Durban, South Africa. /Courtesy/

(3) PORT SAID, Egypt 🇪🇬

Port Said is the fourth largest city in Egypt, located at the Suez Canal by the Mediterranean sea.

About 4500 ships, 10,800,000 tonnes of cargo, 3.57 million TEUs and over 2.5 million passengers are handled at the port annually.

Port Said city, Egypt /Courtesy/

(4) MOMBASA PORT, Kenya 🇰🇪

Mombasa is Kenya’s second largest city. The port of Mombasa has been a major trading place since the medieval times.

Mombasa, Kenya /Courtesy/

The port of Mombasa serves East and Central Africa. Some major reliant countries to martime trade on this port include – Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, eastern Congo, Ethiopia and the southern part of Sudan.

Approximately 35.9 million tonnes of cargo and 2.65 million TEUs were handled at the port in 2020. (Marine Insight)
The Port of Mombasa. /Courtesy/

(5) LAGOS PORT COMPLEX, Nigeria 🇳🇬

Corruption and decaying infrastructure have hampered efficiencies in Lagos Port Complex. Cargo stays in ships for about 60 days and some of that is diverted to smaller ports in Ghana and Togo costing the port billions of revenue and escalating local prices of imports and exports.

Lagos Port Complex. Image: / Nigerian Ports Authority/

The current capacity is 19.5 thousand TEU’s and 298 reefer plugs.

Mohammed Bello-Koko, managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority is excited about the addition of the modern Lekki Deep Sea Port on the eastern edge of the city. It will come on line in July, 2023.

The new Lekki Deep Sea Port. Image: /Skyscraper City/

Its estimated capacity will double existing facilities. It will add 4 million tons, and 2.5 million TEU per year.

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