DP World has confidence in Africa
DP World, whose core business is container handling, from which it generates more than three quarters of its revenue, has expressed confidence in Africa as a destination for doing business.
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He said Africa had a lot to offer, especially in the maritime trade, but the only problem impeding its growth was infrastructure and certain operational inefficiencies which needed attention.
His Excellency, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World, said this when he interacted with journalists from African countries, including Ghana, who were on a business trip to Dubai at the invitation of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently.
He said his outfit had no problem with financing port projects, either through public-private partnerships (PPPs) or concessions, and that it all depended on the government in question.
Sultan Sulayem noted that there could be a demand for a project but the political situation might also be an issue.
In answer to a question as to who decides where a port project should be sited, the chairman said, the customer, who in this case is the shipping line, who used the port, were the ones who decided where they should build or invest.
Chairman Sulayem also said his outfit had already been approached by Ghana, following which a visit had been made to Ghana for further discussions.
Focus on Egypt and Senegal
Sultan Sulayem pointed out that DP World had a clear and strategic focus on Africa where it currently operated in Egypt, Senegal, Mozambique, Algeria and Djobouti, employing around 4,000 people.
Over the past three to five years, he said the company had invested US$1.3billion in capital expenditure (CAPEX) and had added 2,275,000 twenty-foot container equivalent units (TEUs) of capacity in Africa to the DP World terminals, bringing its total annual capacity to 6.2 million TEUs.
In 2014, DP World handled 60 million TEU and with its committed pipeline of developments and expansions, capacity was expected to rise to more than 100 million TEUs by 2020, in line with market demand, he stated.
DP World, he said, had a portfolio of more than 65 marine terminals across six continents, including new developments underway in India, Europe, the Middle East and Africa,
where it had investments underway in Egypt, Senegal, Mozambique and Algeria, and sought to further expand its capacity in the region.
He said DP World had a concession agreement with Egypt at Sokhna, where it started operations in 2008 and which was a multi-purpose facility with container handling as the main activity.
The port has 25 per cent of the market share in Egypt, underscoring its importance as an origin and destination location.
The port, he said, had the deepest harbour in Egypt, with a terminal area of 42 hectares and was equipped to handle high volume cargo flows and able to service the next generation of container vessels as well as Roll-on-Roll-off (Ro-Ro) bulk and general cargo carriers.
Since DP World acquired the port, the chairman said it had introduced many improvements and developed the facility by almost doubling the number of shipping lines that called at the port, from eight lines to 15.
The outfit had been able to automate more than 90 per cent transactions using the most sophisticated systems, and had ensured the versatility in handling containers, general cargo, bulk, liquid bulk, livestock and even the occasional passenger vessel.
It had further enhanced customs procedures by supporting with hi-tech X-ray machines in Sokhna and raised skills levels.
DP World also has a concession agreement with Senegal in its capital, Dakar, signed in 2008, and had made a major contribution to Senegal’s economy with the development of its terminal and local community.
It has significantly upgraded and expanded the facility to make DP World Dakar West Africa’s largest and most modern container terminal.
DP World Mozambique, Algeria and Djibouti
Located on Africa’s south eastern coast, DP World Maputo, under a concession agreement, is a gateway to Southern Africa’s vast economic hinterland.
The port plays a major role in linking regional production, mining and commercial hubs to the markets, he stressed.
He said the port which was almost entirely focused on origin and destination throughout, served as the main shipping terminus for landlocked regions of South Africa, such as Gauteng Province, Limpopo, the North West and Mpumalanga, in addition to other countries such as Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
The DP World Chairman said Algeria was particularly positioned close to deep sea routes to serve as a gateway to North Africa and its substantial hinterland, and therefore in a position to become a significant trans-shipment centre over time.
Partnering with the Algerian government therefore, he noted that the DP World had secured the development of port operations at Djen-Djen under a 30-year concession.
For Djibouti, he said the Doraleh Container Terminal, built and operated by DP World, was the most technologically advanced container terminal on Africa’s east coast.
JAFZA
Journalists were later conducted on a tour of the Jebel Ali Freezone Authority (JAFZA) area by the Customer Relations Manager, Mr Mohammed Al-Khatib.
About 7,800 African countries operate in the nearly 58 to 60 square kilometre free zone, where Unilever, among others, operate.
The freezone covers fast moving consumer goods (FCMGs), oil and gas, construction, electronics, fabrication, packaging, cosmetics and food, among others.
DP World’s CSR
In 2014, he said across the Africa and Middle East regions, DP World had supported 58 not-for-profit organisations with more than 700 volunteers contributing over 1,643
hours and over US$1million to support 13,800 individuals.
He said DP World had adopted a local school for the mentally challenged children in Mozambique.
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