Djibouti port, Ethiopia’s main sea cargo outlet, maintains it status at top position on the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence container port performance index (CPPI) 2022.
The third edition of the CPPI index that was issued two weeks ago placed Djibouti’s container port at the top in terms of statistical and administrative approaches in the sub-Sahara and third in the continent.
The CPPI 2022 this time around only included ports that had a minimum of 24 valid port calls within the 12-month period of the study, compared to 20 in earlier iterations. The number of ports included in the CPPI 2022 was 348 in total.
Djibouti container terminal, SGTD also came in at 26th position in the overall raking of the yearly report that assesses the administrative and performance operations of ports in the world.
The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence pointed out that majority of ports on the continent suffer from the excessive length of loading-unloading cycles, which poses a constant risk of disruption to the supply chain.
Apart from two ports located in North Africa and the port of Djibouti, African port infrastructure is among the worst performing in the world in 2022, according to a report published in the second half of May by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The Moroccan port of Tanger Med ranked first on an African scale and 4th on a world scale, now up two ranks in the world ranking compared to the 2021 edition of the index.
On the African scale, Tanger Med is followed by Port Said (Egypt), which occupied the 10th position in the world ranking, while the port of Djibouti ranked 26th in world making Djibouti the leading efficient port facility in Sub Sahara Africa.
The two top-ranked container ports in the CPPI 2022 were Yangshan Port (China) in first place, followed by the Port of Salalah (Oman) in second place. These two ports occupy the same positions in the rankings generated by both statistical and administrative approaches. Port of Salalah was ranked second in both approaches in CPPI 2021. Yangshan Port ranked third and fourth in the statistical and administrative approaches, respectively, for CPPI 2021. Three ports in the Middle East that were ranked in the top ten were Salalah, Kahlifa, Hamad, while that from the large Chinese gateways were Yangshan, Ningbo and Guangzhou.
Of the top 10 ranked ports, 9 have either maintained or improved their position since CPPI 2021. The exception is Hamad Port, which moved down 5 and 3 places in the administrative and statistical rankings, respectively. Yokohama fell from 10th and 12th in CPPI 2021 to 15th place in CPPI 2022, and Jeddah fell from 8th place in CPPI 2021 to 29th place in CPPI 2022.
More than 80 percent of global merchandise trade (by volume) is transported via sea routes.
A considerable and increasing proportion of this volume, accounting for about 35 percent of total volumes and over 60 percent of commercial value, is carried in containers.
Djibouti operates the modern Doraleh Container Terminal Management Company (SGTD), while its other multiple port facilities are also handling containerized cargos. The facilities are mainly providing service to Ethiopia which is the most populous nation in the world without a seaport.
The 2022 report indicated that the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath on the sector eased in 2022 overall, “The ease has continued into early 2023.”
“This has resulted in an improvement in both port congestion and a reduction in logistical disruption. The improvement in 2022 has had a positive impact on the performance and ranking of some ports,” the report stated.
In addition, the third edition of the Global Container Port Performance Index report notes overall a marked improvement in operational conditions since the unprecedented disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Around the world, container ports continue to catch up. They could, however, gain more efficiency in certain areas provided they increase their productivity and improve the quality of their services by further dematerialising procedures and modernizing infrastructures.