Djibouti Expresses Concern Over Port Ranking by World Bank

Djibouti has lodged a protest with the World Bank over port ranking. In a new report, the World Bank ranked Djibouti’s port at 379th position. It was previously ranked at the 26th position. Interestingly, in the same report, Somaliland’s Berbera port was ranked at number 2 in Sub Sahara Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, the highest-ranking ports were located in Somalia, with the Port of Berbera and Port of Mogadishu occupying the top two spots on the list and ranking 103 and 176 globally. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority has issued a statement in this regard.

“We express our strong disapproval of this report, which we believe grossly misrepresents the true status of our facilities and the quality of services we provide. What is even more shocking is that our port has not been ranked or represented in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region Ranking, despite being recognized as the top leader port in this region for the past three years by the World Bank. This omission is both perplexing and unacceptable”, Djibouti’s port authority said in a statement.

“The World Bank’s ranking misrepresents Djibouti’s well-established performance in maritime transport and port services. We believe this ranking may be due to discrepancies in data collection or a misunderstanding of our current operational context. DPFZA would like to clarify that there has been no decline in the quality or efficiency of our services. In fact, our performance metrics have consistently improved, as demonstrated by the following:
Berth productivity at the Djibouti container port is 120 moves per hour.
Vessel call statistics show significant growth, with 422 vessels averaging 1,765 moves per vessel in 2022, increasing to 556 vessels with 2,124 moves per vessel in 2023, reflecting a 31.75% increase.
The truck turnaround time (TTT) in 2023 averaged just 70 minutes.
Furthermore, Djibouti has received numerous international accolades and continuous positive feedback from our global shipping partners”, explained Djibouti port authority.

Djibouti government questioned methodology and data used by the World Bank and announced to engage directly with the World Bank to address these discrepancies.

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