Within a decade, most of the continent's terminals are passed under the

control of private operators. Among them, the French Bolloré has earned the
lion's share, particularly in West Africa.

In 2004, a few months apart, port directions Abidjan and Douala entrusted the
management of their container terminals to the group formed by Bolloré Africa
Logistics (BAL) and APM Terminals (APMT). In March, they are the same operators
who won the concession of the second terminal (TC2) provided in the port of
Abidjan. Meanwhile, the vast majority of African ports specializing in containerized
traffic rose one after the other in the lap of the private sector, like those before them
on other continents.

By liberalizing British ports in early 1980 to break the influence of the dockers'
unions, Margaret Thatcher certainly did not suspect that it was launching a cultural
and structural revolution that would gradually extend to ports around the world. Lack
of political maturity and suitable institutional framework, Africa has begun to follow
the trend in the last decade, with twenty years late. Today, outside the South African
exception (with the inherited social constraints of the end of apartheid) and Kenya
(failed attempts because of malpractice during tenders), all major container ports of
the continent are managed through a public-private partnership on terms defined
broadly by the World Bank.

Emergency

"We can not talk about privatization of ports

in Africa. They are far too strategic infrastructure that States completely disengage
"said Martin Ndendé, a specialist in maritime law at the University of Nantes
(France). "The goal was not ideological, it was simply to create the best possible to
port management tools," says an expert from the World Bank in Washington. The
urgency was mainly to end a state monopoly became obsolete as the ports it
managed, by attracting private financing can strengthen the efficiency of services
while ensuring the maintenance and renewal of equipment. "At the time, port
capacities were clearly insufficient. The little mechanized handling engendered very
low productivity, even as the trafficking of containerization was strengthened,
requiring heavy investments that port authorities did not have the means to realize,
"recalls Eric Melet, CEO and development concessions in BALL.

Although there is no standard model because of the disparate levels of development

and historical particularities of each country, the generally adopted scheme leaves
the management of land, infrastructure and regulatory functions to the public
authority, which withdraws operations conducted on the terminals to transfer to
private actors in the context of concessions limited in time. "At the end of the public-
private partnership, the state remains the owner of superstructures [container cranes,
quayside cranes ...] built and financed by the private operator," says Eric
Melet. Result: the ports were a few years catching up with international standards to
improve productivity, profitability and competitiveness.

new brand

"Even if they remain above the international average, port transit costs have been
compressed, allowing African exports to be more competitive on the world market,"
notes Yann Alix, general delegate of Sefacil Foundation, specializing in
transportation issues and logistics. In addition to modernizing the existing terminals,
private capital injection has helped them out of the sand brand new port in Tangier or
Djibouti, along major shipping routes that border the continent where the large
volumes justify creation of hub ports as soon in Badagry (Nigeria) and Lamu (Kenya).

From Dakar to Pointe Noire via Abidjan, Lome, Cotonou and ports in different
English-speaking countries, "Africa's west and central Africa are the most advanced
in terms of concessioning of container terminals today "observes Yann Alix. Nigeria
does have a bit slow to take action, but since the adoption in 2005 of the institutional
reforms needed to cope with the exponential growth in container traffic - expected to
pass, according to forecasts of less than 2 million 'twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs,
unit of measure of container volume representing about 38.5 m3) to almost 10 million
in ten years - the country has caught up. From the point of focus 55% of all private
investment in sub-Saharan African ports, according to a study of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

Among the world's leading groups, only the PSA Singapore is absent from the
continent.

head race
For many observers, if the West African coast is leading the race, it owes largely to
the Bolloré group. For "to develop partnerships with the private, must still find an
interested operator," says the World Bank. Indeed, despite the political turmoil and
economic difficulties that have known this part of Africa, the French group never gave
the continent. In a few years, it has carved a small empire along the West African
coast, where it operates a dozen container terminals. And if its port shareholdings
regularly arouse controversy, "he was able to seize the opportunities that have
allowed it to become a major operator, encouraging the passage states to take the
step of the concession," said Yann Alix.

Above all, it has attracted in its wake the Danish APMT. The port subsidiary of giant
Maersk Sea has long been one of the few heavyweights of the global handling to
show any interest in a continent crippled by weak volumes of containerized cargo ...
before the growth rate of the past years - "indisputably supported by the
modernization of ports," according to Martin Ndendé - not just change that. "We're
seeing interest increasingly marked major global operators," confirms Michael
Luguje, secretary general of the ports in West Africa Management Association and
the Center.

Notably absent

One of the world handlers, only Singapore's PSA missing after being turned away at
the Abidjan TC2 of bidding. During qu'APMT multiplies locations in North and West
Africa, Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa landed in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and
Alexandria (Egypt). As for Dubai Ports World, he encounters many problems in
Senegal, Algeria and Egypt, but more successful in Djibouti where he manages one
of the most efficient terminals in the world. Finally, the Philippine International
Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has won the concession Lekki,
Nigeria. Notably absent are African operators. "Apart from English speaking countries
and possibly of Pointe-Noire, their presence is negligible, sorry Michael Luguje. They
have neither the financial resources nor the necessary technical expertise. "

To be fully effective, the container terminal concession must still be accompanied by

a terrestrial component, which continues to be expected. "Having successful ports is
good, it is still necessary that they are properly connected to their hinterland," said
one expert Unctad. Lack of transparency in tendering is also denounced by most
experts, but everyone agrees on the impact "globally positive" of these partnerships,
in ten years, have enabled connecting ports Africa to the world.