Evaluation Of Port Competitiveness Using AHP Method:Case Of East Africa

The purpose of my thesis is evaluation of port competitiveness in East Africa.Particularly,the objective is to scrutinize and decode the crucial factors for the assessment in order to determine the more competitive port in EAR,specifically Dar es Salaam,Mombasa,Sudan and Djibouti.Several researchers have addressed this issue and already shed light on the most important criteria for port competitiveness.The primary influence of the interconnectivity of ports and regional transport on the prospects for development in East Africa is known for long time.And the improvement of the connectivity of the ports remains a factor of growth and trade.Therefore the principal aim of this research file is to evaluate port competitiveness based on selective criteria issued by experts.It will be apply AHP method to evaluate the competitiveness of each port according to their total weight based on different criteria.In the analysis,the focus will be on selected ports of East Africa,mainly Djibouti ports,Kenya ports,Tanzania ports and Sudan ports.According to a study executed by UNCTAD,the port of Mombasa was classified as the 5th largest port in all of Africa because of its competitiveness despite the ferocious competition of other ports in the region.This hypothesis has just been confirmed by my research.The Mombasa port ranked first in terms of competitiveness with the highest score.It is followed by the Djibouti port.The research paper affirmed that the port of Mombasa is the most competitive and efficient in terms of performance in the EAR.