Perfromance Analysis Of Port Of Cotonou

The globalisation and the steady growth of maritime trade in these past years have resulted in the increase of container ships, container ports and their terminals. The structure of the shipping market is, moreover, continuously evolving with emergency of new shipping companies form consortia and alliances and global terminal operators and dedicated container terminals. It affects transportation and logistics in both national and international supply chains and the regional economy. Lifeblood of national economy in most coastal countries in West Africa, seaport is a barometer to assess the development. The aim of this research is to analyse the performance of port and container terminal and to study how to improve this performance of port/terminal. The case of BENIN (port of Cotonou and it container terminal) is examined and evaluated using data which are both quantitative and qualitative by nature. Tools for data collection employed include performance indicators, port actor's interviews, published articles like books, journals; port annual reviews and information from the internet are used. The methodology of research consist to respond whether the basic hypothesis, we formulated are confirmed or refuted.Confirming the basic assumptions, our research showed that the port of Cotonou has a turnover which is exponentially increasing. With the high specialisation index in import due to the industrialized deficiency of BENIN and nearby landlocked countries, port of Cotonou receives different types of ships with the predominance of container ships, trawlers, conventional vessels, and vessels RoRo. Container terminal are proven to be more productive than multiple purpose terminals. Managed by SOBEMAP (public company), SMTC (private operator owned by Bollore) and COMAN SA (private company owned by Maersk),container handling provides more than 1/4 of fees charged in the port of Cotonou, awarding the container terminal sector at the top of port of Cotonou financial providers. The private sector participation for best practice to achieve high efficiency in the Port of Cotonou is appreciable.Petroleum and derivates products, cereals, clinker and food products are the most imported goods through the port of Cotonou, when the cotton and wood are the most exported products. The steady rate of freight flow and vessels flow are the significant indicators of port performance. The research concludes that trading volume plays a key role in the efficiency of a port. Nevertheless, this performance hide many failures in the supply chain at port of cotonou, especially, time wasted at several level of chain, the port's congestion, the deficiency of railway system, ineffective forecasting and planning,, the lack of an optimal management... etc.Therefore, Port management and other stakeholders should focus on measures that can boost utilization of port resources, and also embrace strategic port expansion. As, recommendations, we suggest, to rebuild the railway, construct dry ports and modernize port infrastructures. The research findings here can potentially affect decisions made by carriers, terminal operators and policy makers, as it provides an overview of efficiencies and also examines in detail the sources of inefficiency for ports.