It is East Africa’s first port, but its development is being challenged by a series of rival projects in Berbera and Djibouti to the north, and Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo to the south. Almost everywhere, the Emirati company DP World controls the traffic. By far, the port of Mombasa which was built before Portuguese…

As Africa’s largest port, Durban faces many challenges that are hampering its development. These include congestion, lack of reform and competition from other regional ports. Managed in a landlord capacity by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), the port of Durban is the largest in Africa. It has strong maritime connections with the rest of…

The Lagos complex, with the new Lekki container port and the neighbouring Tin Can Island port, is the largest maritime hub in the Gulf of Guinea. But Nigeria’s ports face many challenges, including congestion, corruption and piracy. With an annual cargo volume of 27 million tonnes, the Port of Lagos is the second largest seaport…

Since colonial times, African ports have been the main gateway to coastal countries and their vast hinterland. We examined the performance, challenges and development prospects of three of the largest ports in sub-Saharan Africa: Lagos in West Africa, Mombasa in East Africa and Durban in South Africa. In this globalised economy, where ports are gateways…