While the World Bank and Standard & Poor’s report on the performance of container ports shows that the ports of Douala and Kribi are ranked 366th and 373rd respectively in the world, those responsible for these infrastructures question the methodology used to this assessment.
According to the Global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2023, published on June 4, Cameroon’s two main ports are positioned in 26th and 27th place at the African level. But this ranking, which positions these ports behind that of Owendo in Gabon but ahead of those of Pointe-Noire and Matadi in Congo, does not convince the port authorities.
At the Autonomous Port of Douala (PAD), the main criticism concerns the methodology used by the authors of the report. “The approach used is essentially based on empirical observation, which is likened to ‘trial and error’ by a PAD manager,” we explain.
Same story with the Autonomous Port of Kribi (PAK), where the operations director, Michaël Mama, believes that “this indicator is imperfect because it essentially takes into consideration one aspect, which is the duration of stays at dock”.
Another major criticism concerns the fact that the CPPI penalizes ports subject to tides, such as that of Douala. “A seaport does not have the same characteristics as a river port like that of Douala-Bonabéri. Being a tidal port, the port of Douala is at a disadvantage to the extent that, even after completing handling operations, the ship must wait for the tide to set sail,” explains a PAD executive.
For Dieudonné Lin Onana Doh, general director of the Container Terminal Authority (RTC), “comparing deep water ports and tidal ports under the criterion of the length of stay of ships is not fair”.Beyond the length of stay of ships, port managers believe that other criteria should be taken into account to evaluate the real performance of ports.
“We cannot only consider the duration of ships in port to measure their performance. We should also take into account the size and quantity of ships docking, the volumes of goods, and the size of the access channels,” underlines Michaël Mama from PAK.
To improve, the ports of Douala and Kribi will therefore have to invest in their infrastructure and equipment, while strengthening coordination between the different actors (customs, administration, operators) in order to optimize their operations.
