Isles govt eyes efficiency as Malindi Port gets new operators
ZANZIBAR: REFORMS awaits Malindi Port after it has been officially handed over to African Global Logistics (AGL).
Outsourcing port operations to Zanzibar Multipurpose Terminal (ZMT) under France’s AGL Group has been a dramatic shift in improving efficiency in one of the Isles most valuable assets.
“We are confident that the new management will deliver as per our expectations. We want efficiency and admirable outcome-revenue,” Dr Khalid Salum Mohamed- Minister of Infrastructure, Communication, and Transport said.
Dr Mohamed said that the Zanzibar government and AGL five-year agreement include construction of Inland Container Depot (ICD) storage facility; safety and compliance of international standard of regulations; modernizing operations by use of ICT; and training of staffs/workers.
He said that about 400 workers from Zanzibar Ports Corporation (ZPC) will be working under the new management and will be trained to improve performance and be prepared to work at the planned new multipurpose port at Mangapwani.
According to the agreement, the Zanzibar government will get 30 per cent of the revenue collection and 70 per cent is for AGL, which will also be responsible for all running costs.
The AGL President Mr Philippe Labonne promised at the brief handover ceremony held at the port, “We thank the Zanzibar government to trust us and promise to make a huge difference. We are committed to bringing changes at the port.”
“We are happy and excited to take over Zanzibar’s Malindi Port operations,” Mr Nicolas Escalin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ZMT-AGL said recently.
He said that already safety and security have been improved, fixing of CCTV cameras and digitalization underway; and construction of ICD is already being implemented at Maruhubi area.
The ZPC DG Mahfoudh said, “We are looking forward to a bright future in port operations.
AGL will mainly deal with cargo/container handling and tracking using modern technology that will minimize cheating and tax evasion.”
Also in attendance were the ZPC board members; Permanent Secretary (PS)- Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication, and Transport Ms Khadija Khamis Rajab; the Ministry’s deputy Minister Mr Nadir Yussuf; the Minister of Trade and Industries Development Mr Omar Said Shaaban; and the France ambassador to Tanzania Mr Nabil Najlaoui who said that Zanzibar is on track to achieve development.
The revenue collection at the Malindi port before outsourcing was about 4.0 to 4.6bn/- per month and that it is cyclical depending on the season’
Holy Month of Ramadhan and December are peak months, while the handling capacity of the port was around 80,000 tonnes of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually.
The AGL is the reference multimodal logistics operator (port, logistics, sea and rail) in Africa. The company is now part of the MSC Group, a leading shipping and logistics group. Having developed its expertise over more than a century and with more than 21,000 employees working in 49 countries.
