The Doraleh Container Terminal Management Company (DCTMC), which was formed recently to manage the container terminal in Djibouti, has signed an agreement with one of the biggest container movers in the world, Pacific International Lines (PIL). This will increase DCT’s activity by one third.
DCTMC was created by the government of Djibouti the day they severed ties with DP World, a UAE based port operator, who also owned one third of the share at Doraleh. Now they have come to terms with PIL, a Singapore based shipping company, to increase handling by 300,000 TEU containers per annum.
In its announcement early this week Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA), which oversees the country’s port operations, said this would boost their cargo volume at the terminal by 33 percent.
“The port deal is expected to bring an additional 300,000 TEU containers to the terminal per annum,” it added.
The terminal has a capacity of 1.6 million TEUs per year, while its actual performance is 900,000 TEUs.
The authority said that the agreement is the initial move towards the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) achieving its potential.
DCT began operating in December 2008 under the management of DP World and two thirds ownership of the government of Djibouti. The authority recently claimed that DCT achieved only 57 percent of its capacity under DP World.
In his interview with Capital, Mohammed Idriss Farah, Ambassador of Djibouti to Ethiopia, said that his country saw through DP world’s strategy, after some thought, and realised that taking shares in Djibouti’s ports enabled them to stifle Djibouti to the benefit of Jebel Ali’s port.
“This port has 1.6 million TEU capacity even though we never went above 900,000 TEU and they were telling partners like PIL that it was impossible to unload in Djibouti as the port was saturated, and that they should go to Jebel Ali,” he said.
“We want to develop our port, we want to go from 3 to 10 million containers and be the main port of Africa, this is Djibouti’s objective, and this is something they do not want,” he claimed.
The ambassador said that in terms of capacity of service with the capability to double in this first phase with the Singapore company PIL, that already signed up for 300,000 containers per year to transit there, DCT will go up to 1.2 million containers and others are also willing to work with the port management.
PIL is considered as the 11th biggest company in container operation is expected reach 9th place in the coming year. In 2016 the company agreed with China Merchant Group to work together for the realization of the Belt and Road Initiative that the Chinese government has launched.
Recently the port management that was responsible for ports in Djibouti except for DCT announced that it reduced port operation tariffs. However, the tariff was not adjusted for DCT.
The Djibouti Ambassador said that since the authority is now directly managing the DCT it would include the tariff adjustment like it did for other ports.
“Of course, because the decision of 50% decrease was not made by DP World but by the Djiboutian government, now a Djiboutian state owned company has taken over there is nothing to worry about on that matter as it is a sovereign decision that will be enforced for all users and clients of the port,” he said.
Djibouti signs port deal with PIL
Agro-processing investment forum brings stakeholders together
The Ethiopian government is investing heavily in the agricultural sector to strengthen the linkages between farming, agro-processing and value addition; participants at the International Agro-Industry Investment Forum that opened on Monday this week said.
The four daylong event saw the attendance of over 3,000 stakeholders in the food processing, textile and garment, leather and leather products and other related sectors such as packaging and energy.
Organized by the Ethiopian government and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the forum was officially opened by President Mulatu Teshome. The president underlined that at the center of Ethiopia’s agro-industry development activities is the development of agro-processing parks in the different regions.
“Agro-industry parks are built in an integrated manner to address constraints related to land access, infrastructure, trade logistics, customs regulations and skills,” the president said. It was further stated that the government is taking proactive measures to expedite the establishment process of four pilot agro-industrial parks by allocating seed funds to support infrastructure development.
“To achieve this, the government is fast tracking industrial goal development. In just three to five years we have seen three state of the art textile industry clusters, which are already attracting internationally recognized manufacturers, in Hawassa, Mekele and Kombolacha”, added Minister of Industry Ahmed Abtew who was also present at the opening.
UNIDO commended the government’s commitment to achieve the Growth and Transformation Plan phase two (GTP2) and leading the country towards attaining middle income country status.
The Forum featured participants from the public and business sector, including current and potential investors, international and domestic enterprises, industry associations, international organizations and financial institutions, as well as representatives from the government of Ethiopia.
The Forum featured specific investment opportunities and investment incentive regimes, as well as facilitated business linkages through a series of networking activities – including B2B, an exhibition for national and international companies and a field visit to an industrial park.
Ethiopia, Italy hold experience sharing session on agro industry development
A side session focusing on the Ethio-Italian private-public partnership for the sustainable development of the agro-industry in Ethiopia, was held on Wednesday at the Millennium Hall where the 2nd International Agro-Industry Forum that was held for four days this week.
Organized by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and the Italian Trade Agency of Addis Ababa organized a side session on the Ethio-Italian Private-Public Partnership for the Sustainable development of Agro Industry in collaboration of the Ministry of Industry and the UN Industrial Development Organization, was officially opened by Italy’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Arturo Luzzi and State Minister of Industry Mebrahtu Meles.
According to the State Minister, the Ethiopian government has long term investment plan in the agro-processing sector that will strengthen and transform the linkages between the processing industry and agriculture.
“There are obviously a lot of opportunities for investment in the agro-processing sector. We advise you to take big bold steps and take this opportunity,” he told members Region Emilia Romagna and News Holland Agriculture who were present to share their experiences and explore opportunities.
The side event set the frame for present and future public private partnership between Italy and Ethiopia with the aim of boosting the Ethiopian agro-industry sector, with a view to upcoming initiative promoted by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Ethiopia.
Different presentations and discussions focused on agro-processing industrial parks in Ethiopia and the opportunities they present and social, industrial and economic development in Ethiopia and the challenges that are faced.
Ethiopia is planning to construct 17 Integrated Agro Industrial Parks (IAIPs) that will be built in all states. Four states have already laid cornerstones to commence the construction of their own agro-processing industrial parks. The parks are expected to help the country speed up its economic transformation from farming to an industrial-led one.
Command Post says most roads open, some security forces attacked
Defense Minister and Command Post Secretariat Siraj Fegessa said 17 security personnel have been injured in violence in Oromia since the second state of emergency was declared two weeks ago. He said security officers have been stabbed, hit by stones and beaten with sticks by youth opposing the government.
“Some people are throwing grenades, at buildings, government offices and private companies and blocking roads so people can’t get to work. Our security officers are doing their best to control these illegal actions,’’ he said.
He added that almost 90 percent of cross county road transportation is back into full operation. However the route from Addis Ababa– Ambo-Asossa and the route from Addis Ababa to Jima is still blocked.
When the state of emergency was ratified it instructed security forces to take “measures” against those disturbing the peace of the country, with a new special court established to try them.
“What everyone should understand is that we are not getting development, peace, democracy in violent ways. Burning houses is not the solution to the problem. Disturbing innocent people’s lives is not what we expect from people. We may have questions, we may have grievances about the government but we must deliver our issues in an ethical manner so we do not disturb people or end lives. To protect our citizens from danger we will take strict action against those who instigate violence, including arresting them,” he said.
Capital asked Siraj a question about negotiations between the government and opposition parties here and abroad. He responded by saying
“This government is elected by the people and the only force that will remove it from the chair is our people. We are observing that some people are mistakenly involved in violence by listening to the groups who want the government to step down illegally. Some say transition is the answer and some say discussions with the groups who want to take power though a short cut. We do not accept this idea because we are governed by constitution and all things should be done in the right way.”
“Let me tell you something, we are better than before, look at our Prime Minster, he submitted a resignation letter weeks ago and not that much trouble has occurred in the country this shows how the government is doing its job in a good way,’’ he added.
Journalist also asked how many people have been killed so far and if excessive use of force was being used.
He said that the report is being summarized. “We will disclose the total number of lives lost and amount of property damaged when we summarize our report and as to the excessive actions as far as we know many security forces are doing their jobs in a very patient manner even if some people are trying to snatch their weapons. If any security personnel fail to follow the correct procedures we will take action as we have done in the past.”
Though the government said the state of emergency will bring stability to the country some opposition groups have called for a transitional government or dialogue between opposition parties.
