The DP World Kigali Logistics project is a Greenfield concession agreement and the first phase will be built on 90,000m² (969,000 sq ft) with a 12,000m² (129,000 sq ft) container yard and a 19,600m² (211,000 sq ft) warehousing facility. Estimated annual capacity is 50,000 TEUs and 640,000 tonnes of warehousing space. Total project cost is estimated at $35 million, and further development will be phased in line with demand growth.

Rwanda aims to enhance the country’s logistics industry to support the export of products for regional and international markets. The DP World Kigali Logistics Centre is expected to significantly contribute to the development of this strategy.

DP World Chairman HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “DP World is delighted to have been granted this concession in Kigali, Rwanda. We are excited by this opportunity to use our expertise to build best-in-class infrastructure to ensure the continued development and growth for Kigali and the wider economy.”

DP World Group Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Sharaf said: “We continue to be optimistic about the outlook for Africa and are proud to expand our footprint in the region. We aim to further develop the logistics sector through DP World Kigali Logistics to help meet the country’s 2020 vision of creating a strong domestic logistics services operator in the region.”

The partnership is further strengthened by Rwanda’s economic transformation in recent years, consistently delivering over 7% GDP growth and today it is also ranked as the most competitive country in East Africa by the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report.

Following the first full year of additional traffic from Port Sultan Qaboos, container traffic was up by a massive 62% from 2014. Break bulk also grew at SOHAR Port, with a dramatic rise of 46% from 2014, to over 1.9m tons. RoRo figures saw one of the biggest increases and were up by over 90%, with over 230,000 vehicles handled in 2015.

The figures were announced at the annual SOHAR business reception, which was held in Muscat on Tuesday evening. His Excellency Sultan Al Habsi, Chairman of SOHAR Port and Freezone, as well as SOHAR CEOs Andre Toet and Jamal Aziz, VIPs and guests from the public and private sectors attended this year’s event.

Andre Toet spoke during the event: “An average cargo throughput of close to a million tons a week in 2015, is testament to the success of our operations at SOHAR. Our rapid growth further strengthens our position as the new Gateway to the Gulf region and our continued development as a very significant regional logistics hub.”

In 2015, SOHAR added a number of new direct lines to its already impressive roster, announcing the addition of global players Hanjin, Evergreen and Simatech, adding more direct links to the Far East which in turn will sink costs all the way along the supply chain.

Jamal Aziz, CEO of SOHAR Freezone, added: “As the Port grows so does our Freezone and we are seeing more and more companies coming in to leverage our excellent logistics infrastructure. Not just the proximity of a world-class port, but also new and uncongested highways to KSA and the UAE, a new cargo airport, and this year work will start on our first rail connection from SOHAR to the Emirates border at Buraimi.”

Containers are a key traffic and a good barometer of the economic environment, and the Port registered 2 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, equivalent to one 20-foot container), up 4% year on year. This growth was even higher if taken only in terms of foreign trade. Export containers at the Port of Barcelona increased by 6.5%, while on the import side there was year-on-year growth of 9%.

These results also indicate that export container traffic at the Port of Barcelona in 2015 was 52% higher than before the onset of the crisis in 2008. In addition to showing faster growth, the figures also point to a significant change in the make-up of the foreign trade handled by the Port. While imports accounted for 54% of international trade and exports for 46% in 2008, today this ratio has been inverted, with 58% of containers for export and 42% for import.

As for total traffic, an indicator that includes all cargo segments, the Port of Barcelona managed more than 47 million tonnes of freight in 2015, up 1.5% on the previous year, when the total volume was 46.3 million tonnes.

All-time record in vehicles traffic
Vehicles traffic performed very well in 2015, recording a year-on-year increase of 18%. The Port of Barcelona closed the year with 881,893 cars transported, which is an all-time record, 80,000 units more than the previous record from 2007, when 801,400 vehicles came through our facilities.

Once again, the boost in foreign trade was responsible for these results. Exports accounted for the bulk of the units handled, with 453,357 vehicles shipped to various destinations around the world (up 5%). Although in lesser measure, there was also a sharp rise in imports (172,143 units), which grew 41% thanks to the recovery of the domestic market.

21.5% increase in the use of the motorways of the sea
Another record-breaking figure was the volume of goods transported by the motorways of the sea – the short sea shipping lines connecting the Catalan capital with several destinations in Italy and North Africa. In 2015 the Port of Barcelona’s motorways of the sea channelled 136,659 ITUs (intermodal transport units, equivalent to one truck, platform or trailer), marking an increase of 21.5%.

The dynamism experienced by traffic with Italy (to which we are connected via services to Civitavecchia, Livorno, Genoa, Savona and Porto Torres) is behind this excellent performance, which translated to nearly 137,000 trucks diverted from the roads to the maritime mode.

Barcelona has established itself as a leader in the Iberian Peninsula for short sea shipping traffic, a mode of transport with significant economic and environmental advantages.

More passengers in turnaround
As for passenger traffic, it is worth noting that more than 3.7 million travellers used the Port of Barcelona in 2015 (up 7%), including regular ferry users (1.1 million) and cruise passengers.

There were 2.54 million tourist cruise passengers, representing an increase of 7%. However, it should be underlined that the largest increase concerned cruise passengers in turnaround (those who begin and end their cruise in Barcelona and therefore represent a greater economic contribution to the city), who represented an 11% rise (compared to the 3% growth in passengers in transit).

« Five full container vessels will sail the round trip on fixed days in each port, stated Jean-Yves Depreux, StreamLines Manager. “With a capacity of 1,300 TEU, equipped with on-board cranes (45 tons) and 250 reefer plugs, they are also designed to carry yachts”. The fleet will be fully operated by Streamlines.

Green coffee, seafood, fruit (especially banana, papaya, avocado, pineapple and other tropical fruit), vegetables and rum are also among the products imported from the Caribbean region.

According to Hervé Cornède, HAROPA Commercial and Marketing Director, “This new service strengthens HAROPA’s position as the leader for French Overseas ‘Départements’; it opens up growth prospects to Central America, especially for all fruit, vegetable, coffee and seafood sector”.