Port managers from 19 countries on the continent considered urgent and irreversible the energy transition and digitization process in service procedures.
The managers reiterated the commitment at the 42nd Annual Council of the Port Management Association for West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), which takes place from 15 to 18 of November in Luanda,
PMAWCA Annual Council is addressing issues related to the challenges of climate change.
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According to the managers, concrete actions have been developed in their departments, in order to promote structural changes in port operations, initiating the migration from a model based on fossil fuels (oil, mineral coal and natural gas) to clean energies.
The CEO of Cabinda port, José Kuvíngua, defends the involvement of the entire chain to achieve the best results.
He also argued that builders in the ship sector and other port operation infrastructures should invest heavily in equipment, such as hydrogen cranes and monitor this “irreversible process”.
The chairman of the Port of Luanda and also the president of the Angolan Ports Association, Alberto Bengue, said that national ports have all procedures digitized.
“Currently operators and customers are starting their protocols for receiving and issuing goods (unloading and loading) without the use of paper”, said the manager.
In turn, Celso Rosa, CEO of Port of Lobito, considered the waste collection system on the pier and along Lobito bay to be efficient, a factor that, according to him, makes the adjacent beaches clean and ecologically healthy.
The head of the Moroccan delegation, Ahmed Bennis, added that his country’s main port is the most ecological in Africa and is among the 25 most ecological ports in the world.
“We bring Morocco’s experience to this meeting to help our counterparts to improve operations”, he said.
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The delegates of Nigeria and Congo missions respectively, Sarah Ballah and Ahme Hibraim, stated that steps are in progress in their countries, although reluctant.
In their four-day event, the managers of the 25 ports, from 19 countries in Africa, will discuss current environmental sustainability policies and the challenges of port and maritime ecosystems.
The Port Management Association for West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) was created in 1972.
Angola became a PMAWCA member in 1986 at the 12th Annual Council held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
