Privatized African Ports Emerging as Powerful Trade Hubs, Study Shows
Calls for privatizing South African ports are gaining momentum, supported by a new study from a leading supply chain firm.
Backed by major Western Cape fruit exporters like Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, Link Supply Chain Management highlights tangible results across Africa demonstrating how port privatization has improved efficiency and competitiveness.
The group stated that these findings underscore the urgent need to privatize Cape Town’s port to unlock similar economic benefits for the Western Cape.
“Our study has proven that South African ports will eventually be privatised, and delaying the process will only delay sure economic benefits,” said Chris Knoetze, Managing Director of Link Supply Chain Management. “All should be done to fast-track the process.”
Danica Potgieter, Logistics Coordinator at Link Supply Chain Management, noted that port privatization has been a game-changer across Africa, transforming port operations and driving measurable improvements.
“Major hubs like Tema (Ghana), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Tanger Med (Morocco), and Lomé (Togo) transitioned from slow, congested state-run systems into globally competitive trade engines shortly after privatisation,” noted Potgieter.
“Meanwhile, South African ports like Durban and Cape Town continue to struggle with delays, inefficiency, and infrastructure bottlenecks – costing the economy and weakening trade competitiveness.”
She added that, across the continent, privatization has consistently driven improvements in crane productivity, attracted greater investment, reduced dwell times, boosted throughput, and strengthened regional integration.
“Privatisation has also sparked broader benefits, such as job creation, improved trade competitiveness, and strategic management,” she noted.
“The key drivers of these changes include successful global operators with KPI-driven operations and performance incentives; infrastructure upgrades such as deeper berths and new terminals; investments in modern cranes, yard systems and RTGs; as well as digital cargo tracking and smart port systems.”
