No. The Study on Regional Freight Corridor Development Based on Port and Rail Systems in Sub‐Saharan Africa Final Report September 2010 Japan International Cooperation Agency PADECO Co., Ltd. Tonichi Engineering Consultants, Inc. EID JR 10-146 The Study on Regional Freight Corridor Development Based on Port and Rail System in Sub-Saharan Africa Final Report September 2010 Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) PADECO Co., Ltd. Tonichi Engineering Consultants, Inc. Preface The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) held in May 2008 emphasized the importance of regional infrastructural development for the acceleration of economic growth in Africa including financial and technical assistance for planning, construction, and improvement for regional transport corridors and international ports as well as assistance for capacity improvement for the maintenance of regional infrastructure. Regional economic revitalization through infrastructure development in Africa has had high expectations and interests. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted two studies titled “Study on Desirable Assistance to Transport Infrastructure in Africa (2008)” and “The Research on Cross- Border Transport Infrastructure: Phase 3 (2009)” for the purpose of summarizing the current situations concerned with infrastructure for regional freight transport corridors in Sub-Saharan Africa. These studies clarified issues related to the port and railway sectors in the region. From this background, over a period from January to August 2010, JICA has conducted this study summarizing issues on hard infrastructure, those on operation and management, strategies for operation and maintenance, and proposed directions of ideal assistance for the port and railway sectors. Furthermore, based on the results of the field surveys in the West Africa region, regional pilot assistance programs for regional economic revitalization through the port and railway sector developments were proposed. The Study Team led by Dr. Chiaki KURANAMI of PADECO Co., Ltd. of Japan, included consultants from PADECO Co., Ltd. and Tonichi Engineering Consultants Inc. The team performed field surveys in the relevant countries and literature research in Japan. During the study period, three JICA internal committee meetings were conducted. The recommendations and conclusions have been reflected into the results of the study and the completed report summarizes all the results of the study. We sincerely hope that this report will contribute to further regional transport infrastructure development in the relevant sectors in the Sub-Saharan African region and would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the individuals and organizations who have kindly supported and contributed to this study. September 2010 Kiyofumi Konishi Director General, Economic Infrastructure Department Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) The Study on Regional Freight Corridor Development Based on Port and Rail System in Sub-Saharan Africa Executive Summary Executive Summary The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) held in May 2008 emphasized the importance of regional infrastructural development for the acceleration of economic growth in Africa including financial and technical assistance for planning, construction, and improvement for regional transport corridors and international ports as well as assistance for capacity improvement for the maintenance of regional infrastructure. Regional economic revitalization through infrastructure development in Africa has had high expectations and interests. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted two studies titled “Study on Desirable Assistance to Transport Infrastructure in Africa (2008)” and “The Research on Cross-Border Transport Infrastructure: Phase 3 (2009)” for the purpose of summarizing the current situations concerned with infrastructure for regional freight transport corridors in Sub-Saharan Africa. These studies clarified issues related to the port and railway sectors in the region. From this background, over a period from January to August 2010, JICA has conducted this study summarizing issues on hard infrastructure, those on operation and management, strategies for operation and maintenance, and proposed directions of ideal assistance for the port and railway sectors. Furthermore, based on the results of the field surveys in the West Africa region, regional pilot assistance programs for regional economic revitalization through the port and railway sector developments were proposed. 1. Constraints on Regional Transport Infrastructure in Sub- Saharan Africa The total GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa in 2009 was US$885.2 billion (in current prices), which represents only 1.5% of world GDP. In addition, South Africa accounts for 32% of the total GDP of this region. The average GDP per capita of the region is US$1,179 (2008, current values), which is lower than that of other developing regions in the world, with only 17 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa surpassing US$1,000. Although the level of economic growth in Sub-Saharan African countries varies by country, future growth can be anticipated in a number of these countries if individual potentials can be brought into play. The level of transport infrastructure development in the Sub-Saharan African region is low, contributing to high transport costs. The delay in improvements in transport infrastructure and inefficient customs clearance are impediments to productivity improvement of enterprises in Sub-Saharan African countries (see Figure ES-1). Business and logistics environments are poor particularly in landlocked countries as well as in low-income countries where infrastructure improvements have been delayed, standing in the way of economic growth. ES-1 The Study on Regional Freight Corridor Development Based on Port and Rail System in Sub-Saharan Africa Executive Summary The trend in trade and transport shows that the volume containerized cargo handled in Sub- Saharan African ports is increasing. This tendency is expected to accelerate in accordance with anticipated economic growth. However, the improvement of container ports has been delayed partly because of physical constraints arising from natural conditions. Furthermore, longer dwell times and higher costs than necessary are incurred at ports due to inefficient cargo handling and customs clearance services, as shown in Table ES-1. Improvement of physical capacity for cargo handling and enhancement of facilities to accommodate large container ships, as well as improvement of management efficiency, are cited as major issues for Sub-Saharan African ports. Source: World Bank, Africa’s Infrastructure, 2009 Figure ES-1 Impact of Infrastructure on Factor Productivity of Companies in Sub-Saharan Africa ES-2 The Study on Regional Freight Corridor Development Based on Port and Rail System in Sub-Saharan Africa Executive Summary Table ES-1 Comparison of Time and Cost Required for Ports and Inland Transport Export Import Time and cost Time and cost Time and cost Time and cost at ports for inland at ports for inland transport transport East Asia and the Pacific 6.3 days 3.4 days 6.5 days 2.5 days US$232.5 US$441.3 US$267.3 US$462.6 Europe and Central Asia 3.7 days 7.9 days 3.3 days 7.4 days US$260.3 US$983.1 US$258.4 US$1129.3 Latin America and 3.6 days 3.2 days 4.0 days 2.7 days Caribbean US$256.3 US$525.2 US$316.8 US$528.4 Middle East and North 3.1 days 4.1 days 4.2 days 3.5 days Africa US$206.8 US$386.2 US$240.9 US$451.0 South Asia 4.4 days 8.3 days 4.9 days 6.1 days US$256.0 US$570.6 US$290.4 US$681.9 Sub-Saharan Africa 5.2 days 6.7 days 6.8 days 6.8 days US$386.0 US$934.5 US$447.3 US$1187.0 Organization for 2.1 days 2.3 days 2.0 days 2.3 days Economic Cooperation US$278.6 US$535.8 US$286.9 US$551.4 and Development (OECD) Source: World Bank, Doing Business 2010 At the same time, the capacity of land transport infrastructure should be increased for the further development of the region. In particular, there are many inland countries with significant potential for the development of mineral resources in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus railways, which are better suited for long-distance transport and the transport of bulk cargo such as heavy mineral resources, will be important. The railways constructed during the colonial era were designed to transport inland minerals to ports. However, due to the deterioration of vehicles, rail track, and facilities on many railway lines, operating speeds have decreased and the limited transport capacity has become serious. As a result, the time and cost required to transport goods to inland countries has been increasing, and the use of roads to transport heavy mineral resources has been causing rapid deterioration of pavements. 2. Issues in Improving Infrastructure along the Regional Freight Transport Corridors Focusing on Ports and Railways 2.1 Issues in Improving Port Infrastructure In Sub-Saharan Africa there are many ports that were developed during the colonial era, most of which have been designed to allow for easy handling of conventional cargo. Accordingly, much of the cargo handled at these ports is general cargo, and the berths are narrow with a transit shed located behind. Conventional cargo handling requires considerable unskilled labor. In contrast, container cargo is handled by automated systems requiring skilled labor and a wide open yard for cargo handling equipment. For this reason many ports have responded to an increase in containerized cargo by adding container terminals, developing container yards after removing old transit sheds, and employing different kinds of cargo handling equipment such as quay cranes for containers. While containerization has been increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa (as it has worldwide), with the exception of ports in South Africa, which have been improved to ES-3 The Study on Regional Freight Corridor Development Based on Port and Rail System in Sub-Saharan Africa Executive Summary international standards, there have been numerous problems and issues at the region’s ports, as illustrated in Table ES-2.