Ethiopia to Buy 2,400 Trucks through Private Sector.
A little over six-dozen companies are vying to buy 2,400 freight trucks with a credit facility from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). The companies will raise 30pc of the value, while the remaining will be covered by a loan secured through the central bank’s guarantee.
The Federal Transport Authority (FTA) in collaboration with the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) initiated the process with the hope of easing problems in the logistics sector brought on by a shortage of trucks. With the new initiative, the private sector will procure the trucks through a supply credit modality approved by the National Logistics Council, a 10-member body in charge of making high-level policy decisions related to the transport sector.
The financial costs associated with the shortage of freight trucks in the country are numerous, and this is expected to alleviate the problems, albeit only as a short-term solution, according to Elizabeth Getahun, president of the Ethiopian Freight Forwarding & Shipping Agents Association. She added that this is on top of the environmental costs that come along with old and overused trucks.
Issues like mounting demurrage and warehouse costs are among the problems, according to Elizabeth, offering that the shortage also results in an inflated price for transportation costs.
The Association, a member of the National Logistics Council, also played a role in bringing this to the attention of the Council in a bid to find solutions, according to her.
“We need to look at other long-term solutions as well, since trucks are worn down over time and a certain amount need to be replaced by new ones every year,” she said.
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DP World Starts Operations of Multipurpose Terminal at Port of Luanda
DP World has begun operation of the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) at the Port of Luanda.
The MPT was handed over to DP World Luanda by Porto de Luanda, following the 20-year concession agreement signed in January by António Bengue, Chairman of Porto de Luanda and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World.
The terminal is the eighth port facility currently managed and operated by DP World in its Africa and Middle East region.
Improvements at the terminal are already underway, with the procurement of new equipment, including 30 trucks, six reach stackers, four empty container handlers and four forklifts. New staff facilities will also soon be built and new Rubber Tyred Gantry cranes (RTGs) will be incorporated to the terminal’s fleet, which will be the first of its kind to be introduced in Angola. RTGs improve efficiency, are environmentally friendlier and allows for better utilization of the terminal’s yard.
As part of its sustainability and responsible corporate citizenship, DP World Luanda also plans to invest in various ways in community projects to make a positive impact on the local community.
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First Russian Warship Enters Port Sudan Ahead of Plans to Open Naval Base.
The Russian warship, “Admiral Grigorovich” frigate, entered the Sudanese port where Moscow plans to build a naval base on the country’s Red Sea coast, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Sunday.
It was the first Russian warship to enter Port Sudan, Interfax said citing a statement by the Russian fleet.
Russia announced in November a deal which outlined a “logistical support center” to be set up in Sudan where “repairs and resupply operations and rest for crew members” can take place.
The naval facility’s capacity will be capped at 300 military and civilian personnel and four ships, including nuclear-powered vessels, according to the details published on the Russian government’s website.
The base will stand on the northern outskirts of Port Sudan.
Russia will also gain the right to transport via Sudan’s ports and airports “weapons, ammunition and equipment” needed for the base to function.
The deal is slated to stand for 25 years — as long as neither party objects to its renewal.
Moscow has in recent years turned its eyes to Africa as it renews its geopolitical clout.
It has wooed Sudan with military and civilian nuclear cooperation, signing a deal between the countries’ armed forces in May 2019 set to last seven years.
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US, Russia Warships Dock in Strategic Sudan Port
A US warship docked in Sudan Monday a day after a Russian frigate arrived in the same key Red Sea port where Moscow is planning to establish a naval logistics base.
The arrival of the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill to Port Sudan follows Washington’s delisting of Khartoum as state sponsors of terrorism, following the April 2019 ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir.
An expeditionary fast transport ship, the USNS Carson City, had already docked in the port on February 24, the “first US navy ship to visit Sudan in decades”, the US embassy in Khartoum said in a statement at the time.
It “highlights the willingness” of the US military to “strengthen their renewed partnership” with Sudan’s armed forces, it added.
The arrival of the USS Churchill was “the second (US) ship to stop in Sudan this week,” said US Charge d’Affaires Brian Shukan.
The USS Churchill docked shortly after Russia’s Admiral Grigorovich frigate arrived in Port Sudan, where the Russian navy said “a logistical support base” would be created.
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