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Information Pays > BDL > Guinea Bissau Agency
Details For all queries regarding CTBL to Bissau please contact our agency office in Dakar, Senegal: Delmas Senegal (CMA-CGM Group) Click here for a list of all OT Africa Line agency offices OT Africa Line Service Brochure Bissua Port Information Bissau port is the principle gateway of Guiné Bissau whereby 85% export and 90% import transactions take place. The port lies on the River Geba at Lat 11° 51’N / Lon 15° 35’W. At the present time, the port is operating well in excess of its designed capacity. Originally constructed to move 5,000 containers per year, the port is now moving approximately 20,000, though with considerable delays. The main physical problems with the port of Bissau are clear and stem from neglect and growth over the 35 years since independence. These can be summarized as insufficient capacity, insufficient depth of port and approaches, lack of navigational aids, and old and inadequate container equipment. At the present time it has been 36 years since the port was dredged with the result that the water depth has been reduced to 3-4 meters. This limits the size of the ships that can enter to 20,000 tons. Established in 1964 the port is managed by the govenment entity of Administração dos Portos da Guiné Bisssau [APGB] as per decree #14/99 dated 27/10/99. The APGB acts as a landlord authority managing regulatory and infrastructural areas. The APGB is a member of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA). However it is the stated intention of the government to privatize direct management of all operational services. In 2006 the port was cleaned up with the assitance of the Spanish government and the Port of Las Palmas. 11 of the 14 boats that had sunk in the area were removed at a cost of US$ 256,000. The World Bank’s private sector rehabilitation and development project followed in 2008. Due to advanced stage of deterioration of the port equipment and inefficient management that occured after the cancellation of the concession contract with the Portuguese company TERTIR in 1999, the freight cost very high. As a result the price of basic goods was high and the competitiveness of country export was low. The project aimed to rectify this by : (i) undertaking a diagnosis to assess the feasibility of a public-private
partnership for the port and options to be considered Managed in two phases a 10 years master plan was reviewed aiming to restructure Guinea Bissau Ports Authority (APGB) including policy, regulations and legal framework, including port reform. The objective of this activity is to support the Government's efforts in improving the effectiveness of port operations. Access roads to the port have been paved using resources of the port authority. This is essential to adequate traffic flow, particularly for the peak traffic season during the cashew harvest. In 2008 work was in progress to demolish some old warehouses in order to make way for additional areas in which to store containers. Equipment available at Bissau port includes cranes, forklifts, tractors, trailers along with tugs, barges and floating cranes. Storage space is available. is currently the largest exporter of cashew nuts in the sub-region. Roads The biggest problem in the road network is the state of the secondary network during the rainy season. This is a particular problem in terms of the cashew harvest since this continues into the rainy season in most years, but is also a problem in that many rural areas become virtually cut off from the rest of the country for several months each year. Repair and maintenance of roads is the responsibility of the Direccao Geral de Pontes e Estradas. There is a chronic lack of finances to perform this function adequately, though the recent resurfacing of most priority national roads through the EC-funded project has reduced the immediate need on those roads. However, there are chronic problems in addressing repair issues in a timely fashion as well as a chronic problem on dirt roads in the rainy season. A study performed
in support of the DTIS in late 2008 of the costs of transport within Guinea
Bissau showed that fully two thirds of the cost of trucking lies
in charges incurred at the many roadblocks throughout the country. These
fees and charges have no legal basis but are in many cases the primary source
of
income for the police and other officials involved. However, if these costs
are in fact twice a large as the fuel and other costs associated with trucking
it is clear that they have become a major impediment to internal trade in
the country. Given that all exports and imports must also travel on these same
routes, this amounts to a tax on international trade as well. Contacts and Links Bissau Port The information given in this document has been given in good faith and believed to be correct at the time of writing. Please verify these facts with other relevant sources before using this as the basis of any action taken as we regret we cannot accept liability for an consequences due to inaccuracies in this information. "THE CARRIER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISSING OR INCORRECT IDR/CRI NUMBERS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY REMAINS WITH THE MERCHANT. ANY FINES/ PENALTIES LEVIED AGAINST THE CARRIER ARE FOR THE MERCHANT'S ACCOUNT." |
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