Benin Republic - Afrikan Heroes

Benin Republic Modernising Cotonou Port to be the best in West Africa

September 22, 2019

Benin Republic has embarked on a major modernization process of the Port Autonome du Cotonou (Cotonou Port) to make it more competitive, efficient and effective in meeting the needs of the 21^st century trade demands and also align with best practices in the sector. With the ongoing modernisation project, the government hopes to build the best seaport in West Africa as Cotonou slowly but consistently becomes West Africa’s transshipment hub. The 300 hectare transit port is in a highly competitive sector and region, especially with the overall growth of trade in West Africa.

Government sources in Cotonou say that the Port of Cotonou contributes more than 60% of GDP and mobilizes more than 90% of domestic resources in the country. As part of efforts to ensure that the running and management of the Port meets global best practices, the government of Benin has entrusted the management of Cotonou Port Authority, the administrative structure to the Port of Antwerp International (PAI) Belgium with the aim of reorganizing and restructuring the administration: computerization of services, dissemination of a code good behavior, staff training among other things.

To this end, the Port of Cotonou has raised the bar on quality control, burnish its image within the global shipping industry, and reduce its waiting times. The country equally wants to take advantage of its geographical position and remains a transit point, especially to the Nigerian giant market of 190 million and Niger which has been loyally using its port. Speaking on the development, Chaibou Attahy from Niger Republic said that there is need for the management of the Port to reduce waiting time, and also reduce the cost of clearing containers because it is still expensive compared to others especially its closest competitor which is the Lome Ports with a turnover of 18.3 percent from its port where it has heavily invested the facilities.

However, a shipping expert said that for the government of Cotonou to modernize the Port, they must dredge it to accommodate larger vesels like those of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Tema, Ghana, that can accommodate larger vessels because the basins are deeper and more extensive because the water body in Abidjan is 1,000 ha against 80 in Cotonou, thus the cost of Passage is lower and delays faster. This is basically why the Beninese government is investing about 450 million euros on the ports modernization by 2020. The Managing Director of Cotonou Ports Joris Thys said that the government is bent on making the Cotonou’s autonomous port an innovative, secure and reliable logistics platform for international trade,he added that “we want international handling and logistics companies to come and invest”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Businesses in Benin Republic Agonise Over Border Closure with Nigeria

The impact of the protracted closure of Nigeria’s land borders have started taking its toll on neighbouring countries even as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has implored the Nigerian government to reopen the borders. According to reports, even countries as far flung as Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are feeling the impact as most of the trans- West African trade passes through the Lagos-Dakar Corridor which the unanimous border closure by Nigeria has put to a stop.

Farmers of perishable products in Cotonou Benin Republic

Over the weekend, business owners and farmers in Cotonou Benin Republic have protested to the Beninese government to step into the matter and have a round table discussion with Nigeria on ways to address the concerns that led to the border closure. Reports reaching our Correspondent show that most businesses that depend on cross border trade are shutting down and the worst hit are farmers of perishable products who complain that some of the products that are already in their harvesting season are wasting away because there is no market to push them to. A Farmer who spoke with our Correspondent said that this development means that Nigeria is choked off from supplies until the next harvest by local farmers. Most of the products affected are Tomatoes, Pineapples, Watermelons among others as the Farmer complain that the farm produce are wasting in the fields because customers who normally come from Nigeria to buy them cannot do so as a result of the closure.

Equally affected in Benin Republic is transportation as the routes for cheap smuggled fuel from Nigeria has been cut off. Those who wholly depend on these products for survival are going through difficult times, says Honore Sukku, a business man based in Cotonou. Mr. Sukku said that he has never experienced such a rough patch in living memory as the closure affects virtually every facet of the Beninese economy. He said that even cheap labourers from Benin who frequent Nigeria for various jobs ranging from plumbing, tiling, mason and carpentry. He concluded by warning that if both governments fail to sort out the problems as soon as possible, the impact would be much dire for both countries.

The Nigerian authorities insist that until the Beninese government help in curbing cross border smuggling into Nigeria, the border will remain shut. Sources from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) said that with the closure of the borders, there has been a drastic reduction in the quantity of petroleum products the country imports. Also agriculture sources say that more Nigerians now eat Rice grown in the country instead of foreign grown Rice. According to official figures, Nigeria has been ramping up rice production, with local output rising by 60% since 2013. But at 4.8 million tons last year, local rice production was still not enough for the 190 million Nigerians.

Kelechi Deca