New Port Sudan terminal able to house up to 800,000 containers
When President Al Bashir announced intentions to make Port Sudan a top port in Africa he meant every word he said. Since then concrete steps have been taken to meet this goal through the ministries of transport and foreign affairs as well as Sea Ports Corporation. Sudan has the advantage of being at a strategic location, Sudan Vision Daily reports. The long coast of the Red Sea positions the country to be open to the world extending to neighboring African countries that lack sea outlets such as Eritrea, Chad, Central Africa Republic and Ethiopia and South Sudan. Recently Sudan has signed agreements with these countries to enable them to benefit from its ports.
The activation of the agreement prompted the Sea Ports Corporation to work for the development of Port Sudan, where new containers station was inaugurated by the President of the Republic last Wednesday, which will have a significant impact on shipping operations in the region and Sudan’s economic situation manifested in revenues that the country can get. Such a project may also help the country develop better foreign relations with its neighbors to restores security along common borders. The new container station can house up to 800,000 containers per a year, which will raise the capacity of the port to additional 300,000 containers per a year. It exceeds Sudan’s current need by 500,000 containers.
According to the State Minister for Transportation, Roads and Bridges, engineer Faisal Hammad, the new station constructed by two Chinese companies comprises two 16 meters deep and 800 meters long quays, which the minister deems as unprecedented leap regarding Sudanese ports, which have become capable of receiving giant ships with 100,000 tons load. He indicated that the old station could only receive ships carrying 40,000 tons. Therefore, 90% of container ships coming to Sudan used to head for other ports in the region to unload on smaller ships, which the minister regarded as “negative” because that used to increase transportation and transfer costs.
Hammad said that their concern was to make sure that the new station construct at an estimated cost of USD 200 million was in accordance with best and up-to-date world shipping systems.
Director General of the Sea Ports Corporation, Jalaladdine Mohamed Sheila said that they were now in a position able to compete against neighboring ports and keep up with world trade movement thanks to the services the new station will provide with regard to unloading containers and logistic activities; in addition to great expansion in storage areas.
On the other hand, efforts are underway to interlink Sudan with a network of highways, railways, especially the finalization of paving the highway linking Sudan to Ethiopia and signing a deal with Chinese companies to construct a railway line from Nyala, South Darfur, to neighboring Chad.
Chadian Minister of Transport and Aviation, Mohamed Yousif Tario, who expressed his admiration of progress achieved by the Corporation, said that they had settled on their options and decided to make Port Sudan a center for transporting their imports and exports the world. He expressed appreciation with the government and people of Sudan for consent to expand the area allocated for them within the free zone.
Since Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad have agreed to use Port Sudan port; the question is what about South Sudan, which shares with Sudan a railway line linking Wau, Bahr Al-Ghazal, and the highway stretching to the Upper Nile. This is in addition to river transportation and other road networks, which make it most in need for the use of Sudanese ports in terms of economic costs.
With the President's reiteration of his readiness to cooperate with South Sudan according to the principles of world trade, the answer to the questions remains up in the air depending on what the political negotiations may produce in coming days.
Will South Sudan resort to reason and wisdom to export its oil products and receive other imports via Sudanese ports in favor of the interests of its people or will it close the door before them to open the door for increasing the suffering of southerners knowing that the country is already crying for food and lacking the capabilities to face the existing crisis?
The political game South Sudan is currently playing will yield nothing but could better be construed as serving international interests at the expense of its people’s sufferings.
The activation of the agreement prompted the Sea Ports Corporation to work for the development of Port Sudan, where new containers station was inaugurated by the President of the Republic last Wednesday, which will have a significant impact on shipping operations in the region and Sudan’s economic situation manifested in revenues that the country can get. Such a project may also help the country develop better foreign relations with its neighbors to restores security along common borders. The new container station can house up to 800,000 containers per a year, which will raise the capacity of the port to additional 300,000 containers per a year. It exceeds Sudan’s current need by 500,000 containers.
According to the State Minister for Transportation, Roads and Bridges, engineer Faisal Hammad, the new station constructed by two Chinese companies comprises two 16 meters deep and 800 meters long quays, which the minister deems as unprecedented leap regarding Sudanese ports, which have become capable of receiving giant ships with 100,000 tons load. He indicated that the old station could only receive ships carrying 40,000 tons. Therefore, 90% of container ships coming to Sudan used to head for other ports in the region to unload on smaller ships, which the minister regarded as “negative” because that used to increase transportation and transfer costs.
Hammad said that their concern was to make sure that the new station construct at an estimated cost of USD 200 million was in accordance with best and up-to-date world shipping systems.
Director General of the Sea Ports Corporation, Jalaladdine Mohamed Sheila said that they were now in a position able to compete against neighboring ports and keep up with world trade movement thanks to the services the new station will provide with regard to unloading containers and logistic activities; in addition to great expansion in storage areas.
On the other hand, efforts are underway to interlink Sudan with a network of highways, railways, especially the finalization of paving the highway linking Sudan to Ethiopia and signing a deal with Chinese companies to construct a railway line from Nyala, South Darfur, to neighboring Chad.
Chadian Minister of Transport and Aviation, Mohamed Yousif Tario, who expressed his admiration of progress achieved by the Corporation, said that they had settled on their options and decided to make Port Sudan a center for transporting their imports and exports the world. He expressed appreciation with the government and people of Sudan for consent to expand the area allocated for them within the free zone.
Since Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad have agreed to use Port Sudan port; the question is what about South Sudan, which shares with Sudan a railway line linking Wau, Bahr Al-Ghazal, and the highway stretching to the Upper Nile. This is in addition to river transportation and other road networks, which make it most in need for the use of Sudanese ports in terms of economic costs.
With the President's reiteration of his readiness to cooperate with South Sudan according to the principles of world trade, the answer to the questions remains up in the air depending on what the political negotiations may produce in coming days.
Will South Sudan resort to reason and wisdom to export its oil products and receive other imports via Sudanese ports in favor of the interests of its people or will it close the door before them to open the door for increasing the suffering of southerners knowing that the country is already crying for food and lacking the capabilities to face the existing crisis?
The political game South Sudan is currently playing will yield nothing but could better be construed as serving international interests at the expense of its people’s sufferings.