When you gaze out over Table Bay – maybe from a touristy viewpoint up on Table Mountain, or from an office window down on the Foreshore – you get the impression that Cape Town has a busy harbour. Vessels come and go, cranes move cargo, and things seem to be happening. And indeed, state-owned operator Transnet Port Terminals reports that the Port of Cape Town moved 627 000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2024–25. (A TEU is, of course, the equivalent of the space occupied by a standard, 20-foot/six-metre shipping container.)

But that’s the problem with Cape Town: it looks like a fast-paced global logistics hub, but it’s just too laid-back for its own good. Those 627 000 TEUs are a drop in the ocean compared to, say, Yangshan Port in Shanghai, China, which handled more than 14.02 million TEUs in the first half of 2025 alone. Equipment shortages, maintenance backlogs, cable theft and years of under-investment have left South Africa’s ports in an alarming state – as reflected by the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index (CPPI).

That CPPI covers 2023, which was a bad year for global freight… and an especially bad year for South Africa’s ports. So while it counts the week in November 2023 when 79 vessels and more than 61 000 containers were stuck at outer anchorage at the Port of Durban, it does not consider the corrective actions taken since then.

‘To contextualise, this was a period at the height of the crisis,’ Juanita Maree, CEO of the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders, told Engineering News. ‘The timing of its release unjustifiably tarnishes today’s developments, casting doubt on the efficacy of robust corrective action under way and the hard work of the recovery teams and the leadership of the National Logistics Crisis Committee – a strong strategic public-private consultative initiative by government that serves as the anchor.’

Maree acknowledged that when it comes to efficiency metrics such as gross crane move per hour (GCH), South African ports such as the Port of Durban – with 15.8 moves per hour at Pier 1 and 16.4 moves per hour at Pier 2 – are well below the global average. ‘South African port users come from a background where rates of around 25 were relatively common in the not-too-distant past,’ she said. ‘This is what makes the current performance so worrying.’

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that the region’s ports crisis represents a significant opportunity for investment. In June 2024, Dubai-based DP World announced plans to spend US$3 billion (about ZAR53 billion) over the next three to five years on new port infrastructure in Africa. ‘The cost of logistics and supply chain across Africa is very high relative to other global markets,’ Mohammed Akoojee, DP World’s CEO and MD for sub-Saharan Africa, told Bloomberg Television. This, he said, presents a good opportunity in locations such as Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

In Mozambique, the Maputo Port Development Company has announced a US$600 million (ZAR10.6 billion) strategic investment to enhance terminal facilities at the Port of Maputo by 2026, as part of a larger US$2 billion (ZAR35 billion) investment plan aimed at broadening the port’s capacity and infrastructure by 2058. Based on the ‘substantial rise in throughput tonnage’ at the port (31.2 million tons in 2023, up from 21 million tons in 2019), Fitch Solutions forecasts that the total tonnage in throughput at the Port of Maputo will reach 47.2 million tons by 2028. By those estimates, it will surpass the Port of Durban in throughput tonnage by 2027.

Elsewhere, the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s Africa Global Logistics (AGL) unit recently announced plans to invest up to EUR40 million (ZAR884 million) in Namibia by 2030, with developments in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz aiming to capitalise on the country’s expanding oil, gas and renewable energy sectors.

Meanwhile, South Africa has pivoted from its decades-long policy of having its ports and railways controlled by state-owned entities, and is now actively inviting private participation. This is a significant move, bringing businesses, investors and multinational corporations into play by offering short-term operational improvements and long-term investment returns.

‘The transformation in investing in infrastructure seen across Africa is most evident in our ports, where private investment is thriving,’ says Jonathan Muga, global head of infrastructure sector at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.

‘Investors are strategically positioning themselves with “one foot in the water and one foot on land” because of the crucial role seaports play in connecting Africa to global trade routes.’

Muga – like many industry participants – sees Southern Africa’s ports as the gateway to growth and development in the region’s resource-rich areas. ‘While enhancing port infrastructure is a crucial first step, it is only the beginning. The real challenges – and opportunities – lie in developing integrated transport corridors that link ports to the interior,’ he says

‘The importance of these corridors cannot be overstated, especially when considering the transnational corridors connecting countries such as the Northern Corridor that runs from the Port of Mombasa in Kenya to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and onwards to Lagos in Nigeria.

‘Another is the Central Corridor from the Port of Dar es Salaam to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. To unlock the full trade potential of such key transport corridors, we need efficient, sustainable ways to transport goods and passengers on rail or road,’ says Muga

Angola’s Lobito port is a prime example of how Southern Africa’s ports can drive this corridor approach. The Atlantic port links to the mineral hubs of Zambia and the DRC via the old Benguela railway, which is being developed with the support of several international investors.

‘The corridor also offers a crucial Atlantic alternative for routing copper and cobalt exports, enabling faster access to key markets in the European Union, Latin America, and the United States,’ says Alexandre Silveira, managing director at MSC Angola. He explains that the Lobito Corridor aligns with the country’s Angola 2025 Vision, with the national government ‘actively leveraging the Lobito project to stimulate economic growth and promote regional integration’.

‘By fostering an attractive environment for investment, the corridor becomes increasingly competitive, encouraging local enterprise and international collaboration,’ he says. ‘Such initiatives not only benefit Angola but also significantly boost intra-African trade, highlighting the corridor’s role as a catalyst for broader continental commerce.’

According to President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC, the Lobito Corridor could create 30 000 direct and indirect jobs and help reduce poverty in his country alone. That impact is unlocked by the Port of Lobito, located more than 1 000 km from the DRC border.

Towards the end of 2024, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, working alongside the United States’ International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), approved funding of up to US$200 million (ZAR3.6 billion) for the Lobito Corridor railway project. The overall value of the project, which comprises the development of bridges, roads, bus stations, railways, terminals, airports, seaports, border ports and more, is estimated at approximately US$786.4 million (ZAR14 billion).

Crucially, though, it all starts at the port.

By Mark van Dijk
Image: Gallo/Getty Images