As Ethiopia is landlocked dealing with port related matters is fundamental to ease the logistics’ hustle and bustle. As a result, the country has been compelled to use neighbor countries for its imports and exports. In order to ease some of the problems in the transit countries, Ethiopia has started constructing dry ports in its hinterland along the transit corridors.
A number of dry ports become operational with the new comer to be constructed in Jimma area. To reap the maximum benefit from those dry ports, the efficient and effective performance of the dry ports is very crucial and to do that it is important to identify factors which influence the performance of dry ports.
Webeshet Haimanot, a researcher of dry port performance management practices in Ethiopia, noted that dry ports promote regional development which are especially useful in land-locked countries those shipments come through a neighboring sea port. Ethiopia has started constructing dry ports in its hinterland along the transit corridors. And this move has helped the country to save the foreign currency and increased its efficiency in import and export transaction. Among the constructed dry ports, Modjo has been identified by the government as the key node for the emerging Ethiopian intermodal trade logistics system. Thus, the efficiency of the whole logistics supply chain largely depends on dry ports as they act as the integrating and coordinating mechanism between different components. To reap the maximum benefit from those dry ports, the efficient and effective performance of the dry ports is very crucial and to do that it is important to assess the performance of dry ports. Africa’s network of inland container terminals – or “dry ports” – is expanding rapidly, part of a continental effort to speed up the flow of cargo between sea and land and address logistics challenges, particularly for landlocked countries.
Yes, a dry inland port can speed up the flow of cargo between ships and major land transportation networks, creating a more central distribution point. Inland ports can improve the movement of imports and exports facilitating the time-consuming sorting and processing of containers inland, away from congested seaports.
There are now more than 40 dry ports and inland container depots located in countries across Africa, from Algeria to Zimbabwe – more than on any other continent in the world.
The Dosso dry port in Niger, located on the Dori (Burkina Faso) – Cotonou (Benin) corridor, or the Bobo Diolasso dry port on the Dori (Burkina Faso) – Abidjan corridor are examples of the potential for dry ports to improve trade, while Chad is expected to benefit significantly from the dry ports projects in northern Cameroon, as the vast but landlocked country is totally dependent on its neighbor’s Douala seaport for imports and exports.
Landlocked countries are also inking deals with their neighbors to operate dry ports near their coastline. Apart from three dry ports operated in Botswana (Gaborone, Francistown and Palapiye), Botswana Railways also operates the Botswana Dry Port at the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, allowing the country the benefit of a direct link to the sea.
In August 2021, Ethiopia finalized the construction of its eighth dry port in Wereta, northern Gondar, Amhara Regional State. The 3 million USD facility was built to ease trade with neighboring Sudan.
Nigeria plans to build six more dry ports across its territory. During the centuries of trans-Saharan trade, prior to the colonial period, Nigeria’s cities of Kano and Kaduna were prosperous and dynamic African entrepots. Improved logistics offer them an opportunity to become so again, according to Ganduje.
Dry ports are container intermodal terminals that are located inland away from the sea, and that are connected to a near or distant seaport by road and rail. The term “intermodal” refers to the combination of two modes of transport that are road and railway. As in a regular port, inland container depots or ICDs handle and store cargoes that enter and leave.
The growth in dry ports is not only a West African phenomenon; in 2019, Rwanda inaugurated its ambitious Kigali Logistics Platform serving not only Rwanda but Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi through connections to the seaports of Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Located in Masaka, an area in Kigali’s suburbs, the 35 million USD facility spans more than 130,000 hectares, housing a 12,000-square meter container yard and a 19,600 square-meter warehousing facility.
The political momentum behind logistics developments like dry ports has grown substantially after the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021. The agreement is expected to substantially boost trade between African countries.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
